For As Long As It Takes
by sereneione
Summary: Preview of Chapter 18 up! Sequel to Anzai sensei?
1. The return

**Chapter 1: The return **

_"Ladies and gentlemen. We will be landing at the Kanagawa International Airport in a short while. Please make sure that you remain seated and that your seatbelts are buckled securely. We hope that you have enjoyed the flight, and we look forward to flying with you again. Thank you for flying with Japan Airlines, and have a nice day."_

_We're finally here..._

_"Excuse me, miss?"_

Hanayuki looked up at the flight attendant standing in front of her. _"Yes?"_

_"Can you please buckle your seatbelt?"_

_"Oh, sure. Sorry," _Hanayuki replied, putting on her seatbelt at once.

_"It's ok. Thank you." _The flight attendant smiled at her before moving on to the next passenger.

Hanayuki rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes, before letting out a deep sigh and turned her head to look at her sleeping companion. Her hand reached out to caress the face gently.

_We're finally here..._

---

At the Kanagawa International Airport...

_"Calling for all passengers on the MS652 flight to America. Please proceed to Gate 9..."_

"Oh, that's our plane, Kenji," exclaimed Mrs Fujima. She took one last look at her son and ruffled his hair. "Now you take good care of yourself, alright?"

"Yes, okaasan. I will. You take care too. Send my regards to oneesan," said Fujima.

"I will. I'd better get going. Bye!" With a wave of her hand, Mrs Fujima went off in search of the said gate.

Fujima waved back and made his way in the opposite direction. _Best be using the men's room before going home. _

---

On the first day of school, in the classroom of 2-5, Shohoku High School...

"Of all the rotten luck in the world, I'm in the same class as the stupid kitsune," Sakuragi muttered to himself. He glanced across the room to the other end of the class, where said kitsune was already snoring away on his desk. (A/n: Long story cut short, they're both sitting at where they used to sit during their first year; Sakuragi next to the window on the right-hand corner of the class (looking from the front of the class, that is), and Rukawa next to the wall on the left-hand side.)

_Stupid kitsune. Why? Why can't I be in the same class as Youhei, like last year? Or Hana-chan? Or even-_

"Sakuragi-kun?"

Sakuragi blinked at the sound of Haruko's voice. Slowly, he looked up to see Haruko standing beside his table. "Ha-Haruko-san?"

"Sakuragi-kun, I can't believe that we're in the same class this year! And Rukawa-kun too. Don't you think it's great, Sakuragi-kun?" she asked cheerfully.

Sakuragi was too busy registering the fact that Haruko was to be his classmate that he didn't hear whatever it was she had said to him. _Haruko-san is in the same class as I am! Oh, thank you Kami-sama! _

"Sakuragi-kun, are you alright?" came Haruko's voice again.

Sakuragi quickly snapped out of his thoughts. "Nyahahahaha! Of course, Haruko-san. Nyahahahaha!"

"Do'aho."

Even with the distance between the two of them, somehow Sakuragi managed to pick up Rukawa's famous and exclusive one-liner.

"Teme Rukawa!"

And so, on the first day of school, before the first lesson had even started, Sakuragi and Rukawa got into their first official fist-fight of the year.

---

Later that week, in the gym...

"Shohoku fight!

"Fight! Fight! Fi-"

BAM!!!

Ayako slapped her forehead. "Sakuragi Hanamichi, you're the only person I know who can actually run into a wall during practice."

Sakuragi got up quickly from the floor, rubbing his forehead. _Kuso! It's all that stupid Rukawa's fault. If it wasn't for Haruko-san paying so much attention to him, I wouldn't have to run faster to catch her attention and slam into the wall._

"Sakuragi-kun, are you alright?" Haruko asked.

"Daijoubu, Haruko-san! I'm the Tensai, remember? Nyahahahaha!" Sakuragi laughed, putting on his Tensai pose.

"Do'aho."

"Teme!"

"Shhhh! Quiet, Hanamichi," said Miyagi, putting one finger to his lips. "I think I hear something."

"Huh?"

"What is it, Ryota?" asked Ayako.

"Shhh! Listen, Aya-chan," he instructed.

Everybody strained their ears to hear what their captain had heard. At first, it was very faint and distant, but slowly, it became louder and nearer.

Miyagi and Ayako stared at each other. "Is that...?"

"Ryota, I think it's..."

"Hohoho!"

"Anzai-sensei!" the third-years all chorused together. They turned towards the door, and there he was, their long-lost coach, Anzai-sensei.

"Hohoho! Konnichiwa," Anzai-sensei greeted the shell-shocked players of Shohoku.

"Anzai-sensei!" All the third-years (Miyagi, Ayako, Yasuda, Kakuta and Shiozaki) crowded around Anzai-sensei. "Sensei, you came back!"

"Hohoho! Yes, I came back."

"But how is your health condition, sensei? Are you really fit enough to come back?" asked Ayako.

"Yes, yes. I've been resting in America for a year already. I'm perfectly well. Hohoho!" he replied. He looked over at the second and first-years. "I see there are a lot of members I have yet to meet."

"Ah, yes sensei. Let me introduce them to you one by one," said Miyagi. He beckoned to his juniors to approach, which they did. He pointed to Sakuragi. "This is Sakuragi Hanamichi, sensei."

"Hohoho! Hana-kun, hisashiburi ne. Look at you. You have grown so big and tall. Hohoho!"

"Oya- I mean, Anzai-san, it's nice to see you again," Sakuragi greeted and bowed, much to the surprise of his team-mates.

"Hohoho! Please, no need to be so formal with me, Hana-kun. You can call me ojisan. That's how you used to call me back then, remember? Or, you can even call me otousan if you like. After all, Hana-chan calls you oniichan, doesn't she?" said Anzai-sensei.

"Hmm... I think I'll stick to ojisan," said Sakuragi, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Do'aho."

"Rukawa..." Sakuragi growled in warning. He didn't want to start a fight in front of his old man, or Hanayuki's old man to be exact.

"And this is Rukawa Kaede, Anzai-sensei," Miyagi quickly interrupted, sensing the tension rising between the two boys.

"Nice to meet you, Rukawa-kun. Hana-chan has told me a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you too, sensei." Rukawa also bowed in greeting.

Miyagi proceeded to introduce the rest of the second-years (A/n: Ishii, Kuwata and Sasaoka.), before going on to ask the first years to re-introduce themselves again (they already did before Anzai-sensei arrived).

This year, there were quite a number of newcomers, which included 184-centimetre-tall, 75-kilogramme Mikage Yuuhi and 190-centimetre-tall, 75-kilogramme Tendo Yasuo. Also, there was Mizusawa Ichiro, who joined the club not as a player, but as the assistant manager.

After the introductions, practice was resumed, but Sakuragi stayed behind for a while and asked, "Ojisan, where is Hana-chan? I didn't see her at school the whole week."

"Hana-chan had something to do, which was why she didn't come to school for the whole week," Anzai-sensei answered.

"Why is that, ojisan? It's been like, 4 months since I last saw her. I miss her so much," said Sakuragi.

"Hohoho! She misses you a lot too. Don't worry. She'll be here next week," Anzai-sensei assured him.

"Oi, Hanamichi! Are you coming back to practice or not?" Miyagi shouted at the redhead.

"Coming, Ryochin!" Sakuragi shouted back, before running over to where the team had gathered.

As soon as he was gone, Anzai-sensei's cheery façade was immediately replaced with a grim-faced one.

---

One week later, in the classroom of 2-5...

"Ohayo!" Hanayuki shouted into Sakuragi's ear.

Sakuragi sat up so quickly he almost fell off the chair. "Huh? What? Who?"

"Hahaha! It's me, oniichan!" said Hanayuki laughingly, and was instantly enveloped in a bear hug.

"Hana-chan, it's you! I missed you so much."

"Yeah, I missed you too," said Hanayuki, hugging him back.

"Are you in this class too, Hana-chan?" asked Sakuragi.

"No. I'm in the next class," Hanayuki replied, shaking her head, before breaking into a smile again. "But Haruko-chan is here. And Kaede too."

"Che! Who cares about the kitsune?"

"Do'aho."

"Nani??!"

Hanayuki turned around to see Rukawa standing behind her. She curved her lips into a smile and greeted, "Ohayo, Kaede."

Instead of getting a verbal greeting in return (which wasn't surprising, since this is Rukawa we're talking about), she got a non-verbal one, which came in the form of another bear hug.

Note that this happened in front of all his other classmates, in which half of them were female. The sight of their beloved Rukawa-sama hugging another girl other than themselves immediately sent them into a screaming and wailing frenzy. Even Sakuragi had to cover his ears to protect them from further damage, and the teacher came running into the classroom in a panic, thinking that something had happened to his precious students, which of course, turned out to be a false alarm.

Hanayuki sweatdropped at the commotion she had unintentionally caused. "I think I'd better go back to my class. The two of you had better get along with each other in class. My classroom is just right next door. I may be hearing-impaired, but if it's a fight, then it should be loud enough for me to pick up."

She looked at each of them pointedly, before continuing, "This year, I want our basketball team to be formidable. To do that, I need your unbeatable partnership. Now don't go giving me all those 'I can do better without him' crap. You know very well yourselves how good you can be when you work together."

Sakuragi and Rukawa glanced at each other, before looking away quickly. Hanayuki shook her head. "Fine. I don't care if you guys can't get along off the court, but on the court, you have no choice. I'll see you in practice after school. Ja ne!" With one last smile, she exited the classroom.

---

After school, in the gym...

Having been let off early from her last class, Hanayuki was the first to arrive for practice. She was about to enter the gym when somebody called out to her.

"Hey there!"

Hanayuki turned to see two boys walking towards her. "You called me?" she asked.

"Yeah. Who are you? What are you doing here?" asked one of them. He had longish black hair, and wore a pair of glasses.

Instead of answering, Hanayuki gave them both a long appraising look, before asking, "Are you new members of the basketball team?"

This time, the other guy, with brown spiky hair, answered. "Yes, we are. I'm Mikage Yuuhi," he introduced himself, and pointed to his companion. "And he's Tendo Yasuo. Nice to meet you, er..."

"Hanayuki. My name is-"

"Hanayuki-san, very nice to meet you. Are you here to watch the team practise?" Mikage asked, extending his hand, which Hanayuki took.

"Well, actually-"

"You're quite tall for a girl. Do you play basketball?" asked Mikage, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence.

"As a matter of fact, I-"

"You don't right? I mean, if you did, your hands wouldn't be this smooth." Only then did Hanayuki realise he was still holding her hand.

"Um..."

"How about I give you a lesson or two on basketball? I'm sure you'll love it."

Without waiting for Hanayuki's answer, Mikage pulled her into the gym and onto the court.

_He's not really going to give me basketball lessons, is he? _Hanayuki thought to herself.

"Alright, Hanayuki-san. Shall we begin?" Mikage asked, holding a basketball in his hands.

_Ok... so he _is _going to give me basketball lessons._ Deciding to play along, Hanayuki nodded, and soon, she was being introduced to the wonderful world of basketball. It hadn't been easy playing along though, because she had to restrain herself from bursting into laughter every time he 'imparted' his skills to her. On top of that, Hanayuki could see that his enthusiasm wasn't just because he loved basketball.

_If oniichan or Kaede should see this now, I don't think Mikage-kun can make it out of this gym alive, _thought Hanayuki with amusement, as Mikage put his hands on hers, trying to 'teach her how to get a better grip on the ball'.

Just then, the rest of the team arrived. To say that they were surprised to see Mikage 'teaching' Hanayuki how to play basketball would be correct, but to say they were horrified would also be accurate, especially on Sakuragi and Rukawa's part.

_What the-?! What on earth does that stupid freshman think he's doing?! He'd better keep his hands to himself if he doesn't want to die anytime soon! _

"Mikage, what do you think you're doing?" shouted Sakuragi, and was about to stomp towards them when Hanayuki stepped forward.

"Gomen nasai, minna-san. Mikage-kun here was just teaching me how to play basketball. I'm sorry if I am disturbing your practice." The tone of her voice, and the very obvious mischievous twinkle in her eyes, were enough to tell Sakuragi and the others that they were not to interrupt the lesson.

Ayako was quick to see what Hanayuki was planning to do and said, "Oh, it's ok. You guys go ahead. We don't mind, do we, captain?"

Needless to say, Miyagi quickly agreed with his Aya-chan. "Yes, yes! Go ahead. Take your time. We can wait. Continue teaching, Mikage."

"Don't let the whole team down," Ayako added.

"Hai!" Mikage replied happily, and returned to his 'teaching'. "Ok, Hanayuki-san, now let's go on to the jump shot."

He proceeded to show her how to hold the ball, and it was all Sakuragi and Rukawa could do not to rush forward and beat the crap out of Mikage, and Miyagi and Ayako not to burst out laughing, when they saw how Mikage's hands were all over Hanayuki's.

"...and then, when you jump, you raise the ball like this. No, that's not right. Let me show you." Mikage stood behind Hanayuki and took hold of her hands, which was holding the ball. "Like this. Yes, that's right. The left hand only assists."

Rukawa almost lost it, if it wasn't for Ayako pulling him back.

"Now, go ahead and give it a try," said Mikage, stepping back.

"Ok." Hanayuki jumped up and shot, and the ball went into the basket without even touching the rim.

Mikage was surprised. "That was very good, Hanayuki-san."

"It is?" asked Hanayuki. _I didn't practise all this years for nothing, you know. _

"Yeah. In fact, you are way too good for a beginner," Mikage remarked. "Anyway, let's go on to the three-point shot." He grabbed Hanayuki's hand and pulled her to the three-pointer line.

This time, it was Sakuragi who almost lost it, but Miyagi pulled him back.

"Now, the three-point shot-"

"Anou, Mikage-kun, I think I can handle the there-point shot already," said Hanayuki, cutting him off. "I mean, the only difference between a jump shot and a three-point shot is the distance and the power in which you release the ball, right?"

"Well, quite, but not quite, Hanayuki-san. You see-"

"Just let me have a go. If it is wrong, then you can correct me."

"Um, ok. Go ahead then."

Hanayuki dribbled the ball on the floor, before jumping up and launched the ball, which flew through the air in an arc before landing in the basket with a swish.

Mikage's jaw fell open, and so did the rest of the first-years', while Miyagi, Ayako, Sakuragi and the rest of the second and third-years cheered.

"How was that, Mikage-kun?" asked Hanayuki, smiling at him.

"Are... are you sure you don't know how to play basketball?" Mikage asked, still shocked from what he had just seen.

"I never said I didn't know how to play basketball," said Hanayuki, still smiling. "You assumed I didn't."

"Who are you?"

"Nani??! Are you saying that you do not know the Tensai's sister?" Sakuragi boomed.

"Tensai's sister?" Mikage looked from Sakuragi to Hanayuki, disbelief clearly written on his face. "You mean Sakuragi-sempai's your brother?"

"Not by blood, but yeah, he's my brother," Hanayuki replied.

The colour drained out of Mikage's face, as he recalled what one of his other sempais had once told him. He pointed a shaky finger at Hanayuki. "You... you're Anzai Hanayuki, the assistant coach?"

Hanayuki smiled. "Hai. Yoroshiku."

Miyagi and Ayako finally burst out laughing.

"B-But why didn't you tell me earlier..." Mikage stammered.

"You never gave me the chance. You kept cutting me off," Hanayuki pointed out.

When she saw that his face was getting paler and paler by the second, she quickly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep it from you. I mean, I didn't have the chance, besides, I thought it would be a very good opportunity to see how well your sense of basketball is. Gomen, ne?"

Mikage gave her a weak smile. "I must have made a total fool of myself."

"On the contrary, Mikage-kun. Your sense of basketball is very good, to say the least. With more experience, you would make a very fine player, and later, a very fine coach." Hanayuki smirked. "Of course, you'll have to learn how to keep your hands to yourself, especially if you are to be a coach at a girls' basketball team."

Mikage turned red after hearing this. "Gomen. I... I just thought that you are very attractive and... well..."

"Just forget it," said Hanayuki, blushing a little.

By then, the rest of the team had walked up to them.

"Mikage, you had no idea how dangerous your position was back there," said Miyagi.

Ayako nodded and giggled. "You were practically signing your own death warrant."

"And the warrant is still valid," Sakuragi added, cracking his knuckles. Beside him, Rukawa was giving Mikage his deadly ice glare.

Hanayuki squeezed in between the two people and linked her arms with theirs. "Come on, oniichan, Kaede. Mikage-kun didn't mean anything. Don't be so sensitive."

"Sensitive??!!" Sakuragi roared.

Hanayuki covered her ears. "Ouch! Oniichan, are you trying to make me completely deaf?"

"Oops! Ehehehe... sorry..."

"Never mind them, Yuki-chan. Now come here and give me a hug," Ayako ordered.

Hanayuki laughed and readily complied. "Ayako-san, you have grown more beautiful over the months. Miyagi-sempai is a very lucky man, ne?" Hanayuki winked at Miyagi who was standing behind Ayako.

"Ehehehe..." Miyagi scratched his head in embarrassment.

Ayako playfully whacked Hanayuki on the head with her fan. "I see you have grown naughtier over the months, Yuki-chan."

Hanayuki laughed again. "I see you still have that fan. But, perhaps you're right, Ayako-san." Turning to face the others, she said, "Alright people, no time to waste. Start practising now."

"Don't we have to wait for Anzai-sensei, Yuki-chan?" asked Miyagi.

Hanayuki snapped her fingers. "Oh, right. That reminds me of something I'm supposed to tell you people. Otousan won't be coming to watch you guys practise everyday. He'll only be coming once in a while. I'll be here everyday though, you can count on that."

"That's fine. Come on, let's go sit down," said Ayako.

Not long after that, Ichiro and Haruko walked into the gym together.

"Yuki-san!" he exclaimed, when he spotted Hanayuki sitting on the bench. He ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Yeah, Ichiro. I missed you too," said Hanayuki laughingly.

"What happened to you? Why didn't you come to school for the past whole week?" Ichiro asked.

For a fleeting moment, Ichiro thought he saw a flicker of change in the cheery expression on Hanayuki's face, but it was gone before he could be sure, so he brushed it off as his imagination.

"I, er, had something to do," she said. "Didn't otousan inform you guys about it?"

"He did, but he didn't tell us what was it that you had to do," said Ichiro. "What was it anyway?"

Hanayuki playfully tweaked his nose and said, "Since when are you so nosy, Ichiro?"

Ichiro laughed. "Since I became the assistant manager, I guess. Well, whatever it is, I'm glad that you're back. Anyway, I've got to go talk to Miyagi-sempai about something."

He walked onto the court to where Miyagi was standing, leaving Hanayuki watching his retreating back.

_I'm glad to be back too..._

---

Author's notes: First chapter of the sequel... done!!! Yay!!! I must tell you firsthand, it is going to be rather difficult for me to update for this sequel, because from here on, I have to write my own storyline. I mean, I have the storyline, yes... but to put it down in words is not easy. I hope that you will bear with me. Oh, and the chapters won't be as long as the prequel's. Gomen ne... I hope you bear with the significantly shorter chapters.


	2. The past

**Chapter 2: The past **

(A/n: This message is especially to Jen. Jen, if you are reading this, I hope that you can give me your email address so that I can personally mail you and answer your questions. Thank you and I look forward to mailing you.)

Recess time, on the rooftop of Shohoku High School...

Hanayuki was quietly picking at her food, while Rukawa was lying on the floor, catching up on his never-seem-to-be-enough sleep. Or so it seemed. The truth was he had been watching Hanayuki since they got there; he only pretended to be asleep to avoid being asked questions.

A couple of weeks had passed since the first day of school. For some reason, Hanayuki had missed the first whole week of classes. And for some reason, she seemed to have changed a little ever since she came back. For one thing, she was not as energetic as she used to be.

Rukawa would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about it or anything else that had got to do with her. In fact, he was dying to know. He wanted to know what it was that was so important she had to miss a whole week of school. He wanted to know what it was that was so secret she wouldn't even tell her brother. He wanted to know all about her trip to America and what she did there.

Most of all, he wanted to know if she had managed to sort out her problems, and if everything was alright now.

"How long are you going to pretend to be asleep, Kaede?"

_What the...? _

Hoping that she was only testing him, Rukawa didn't move a muscle.

"If you think that by not moving I'll be convinced you're asleep, you're wrong."

_What is she, a psychic? _

Rukawa still didn't move from his position.

"By the way, Kaede, I was wondering-" she looked over at him, "-if you could give me back the set of keys to my house that you're holding on to."

His eyes flew open.

"Don't think that I didn't know you made a set of my house keys _without _my permission. How else did you get into my house that night last year, when I was very sure I had locked the door properly before running off to my room?"

_You forgot to lock the door, that's how. _

"And let's not forget that Ayako-san just walked into my house that memorable day, before I could even touch the door. I saw the keys, so don't bother telling me that they don't exist."

_They are not supposed to. _

"If otousan and okaasan hadn't come back, I would've just pretended that I didn't know about it. Now that they're here, I don't think it would be appropriate for you to keep them. You understand, don't you, Kaede?"

_Yes and no. _

Hanayuki set down her bento and walked over to where Rukawa was. "Say something, Kaede," she said, poking him hard in the ribs.

Rukawa grunted and sat up, scowling at her. Hanayuki just looked back him nonchalantly. "You have the keys with you now, right?"

"..."

Hanayuki sighed. "Kaede, my parents are staying with me at home now. I cannot let you keep them. It's just not right. What would they say if they find out about it?"

"They won't, if you don't tell and I don't use it."

"Well, I'm sure I won't tell, but are you sure you won't use it? I mean, if you won't be using it, why do you still want to keep it?"

"Emergency purposes."

"Emergency purposes? Care to explain to me your definition of emergency purposes?" asked Hanayuki, slightly amused.

"You lose your keys."

"Um, okaasan will be home to let me in," she pointed out.

"Nobody's at home."

Hanayuki opened her mouth, and closed it again. _He has a point..._

"I promise I won't use them," said Rukawa. _That is, until I have to._

Hanayuki regarded him for a moment, before finally relenting. "Fine. I'll hold on to the fact that you've never broken your promise to me before and let you keep them."

_Yosh! _

"But if I ever find out that you've been using them, whatever the reasons or excuses are, I'm going to make sure you regret having the keys in the first place."

Rukawa just shrugged. _I'm willing to take the risk... _

---

Later that evening...

"Okaasan!"

"Yes, Hana-chan, I'm in the kitchen," came Mrs Anzai's voice.

Hanayuki turned to Rukawa. "Kaede, why don't you have a sit? I'll go get something for you to drink. What would you like?"

Rukawa shook his head. "It's ok. I don't need anything."

"I'll get you something anyway." Lowering her voice, she continued, "If I don't, okaasan's going to kill me." With that, she bounded into the kitchen, leaving Rukawa alone in the living room.

As he sat down on one of the sofas, Anzai-sensei came into the room. Rukawa quickly stood up and bowed in greeting. "Konbanwa, Anzai-sensei."

"Hohoho! Rukawa-kun, please, have a seat," said Anzai-sensei, motioning for Rukawa to sit down.

Rukawa waited for the older man to sit down first before sitting down himself. "Sumi masen, sensei, for coming unannounced."

"Hohoho! It's ok, Rukawa-kun. Don't worry about it."

They lapsed into a moment of silence, and Rukawa was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second. Luckily, Hanayuki came out just in time, holding a tray of drinks and cookies.

"Here you are. Help yourself, Kaede," said Hanayuki, handing him the can of drink and setting down the plate of cookies in front of him on the coffee table, before sitting down beside him.

Instead of drinking, he put the can on the table, and leaning closer to Hanayuki, said softly, "I think I'd better go."

"So soon?" Hanayuki asked, surprised.

Rukawa nodded, before standing up and bowing to Anzai-sensei, again. "Gomen, sensei, but I think I'd better take leave now."

"So soon, Rukawa-kun? Why not stay for dinner?" asked Anzai-sensei, also standing up.

"Arigatou, sensei, but maybe next time. Gomen," Rukawa apologised and bowed even lower.

"Hohoho! Very well, then."

Hanayuki stood up. "I'll walk you to the gate," she said, and led Rukawa to the door.

Outside the house...

"I'll see you tomorrow, ne, Kaede?" said Hanayuki.

"Hai," Rukawa replied. "Tell your okaasan that I'm sorry I couldn't meet her."

"I will. Be careful on your way back, and don't fall asleep," Hanayuki reminded him.

She waited for him to get on his bike and cycle away, before closing the gate and walked back into the house.

_---_

_Ok, so things didn't go exactly the way I planned it, _thought Rukawa, as he made his way back to his own house.

He had been planning to ask Hanayuki about some things, mainly about herself, at her house, but somehow, it had completely slipped out of his mind that her parents were at home.

_I'll just have to call her later and ask... zzzz..._

CRASH!!!

_Yeah, that's what I'll do... _

---

Later, at his own house in his own room...

Rukawa looked at the phone he was holding in his hand, contemplating on whether he should make the call or not.

_Should I, or should I not? Her parents are at home. What if they're already asleep? _

He stood up and paced the room, and then sat down on the bed.

_I'll call. _

He punched in the numbers, and waited patiently as the phone on the other side of the line starting ringing.

---

Hanayuki was humming along to the song which was being played on the car stereo when her phone began to ring. When she saw the number flashing on the LCD screen, she motioned to the driver to pull over to the side of the road and turned off the stereo.

Taking a deep breath, she answered the phone.

---

Rukawa was about to hang up when somebody finally picked up the call.

"Moshi moshi?" It was Hanayuki.

"Yuki."

"Yes, Kaede?"

_Why did you take so long to answer the phone? _"Where are you?"

---

Hanayuki knew he was going to ask that question. Choosing her words carefully, she answered him, but in the form of a question. "Where do you think I am?"

"..."

"Kaede?"

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I am," said Hanayuki. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Just then, a huge truck passed by the car and honked. Hanayuki held her breath. _He didn't hear that... he didn't hear that... he didn't hear-_

"Something's wrong."

_Shoot! Damn that stupid truck! _"What is?"

"You."

"I'm fine, really. There's nothing wrong with me." Hanayuki tried to inject a smile into her words, despite her nervousness. "You just saw me a while ago, remember?"

"..."

"Kaede, I'm sorry, but I'm taking this call with my hand phone, and the battery is running low. Can I call you back later or something?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"You don't have to call back."

"Are you sure? I can always call you back-"

"I'll see you tomorrow," Rukawa cut her off.

Hanayuki was silent for a while, before she said, "Ok. See you tomorrow then."

"Good night."

"Good night." Slowly, Hanayuki put down the phone and heaved a deep sigh.

"Are you alright?"

Hanayuki turned to look at the only other person in the car besides her. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Rukawa?"

Hanayuki nodded her head.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again.

"Yes, I'm totally fine," she said, managing a small smile. "We'd better get going. It's getting late."

"Hai."

---

Rukawa put the phone back into its cradle and laid down on his bed.

_Something's wrong..._

He stared at the ceiling, recalling the sound of the truck he was sure he had heard in the background.

_She wasn't at home..._

---

Rukawa never asked Hanayuki where she really was that night when he called her. He knew her well enough to know that if she had wanted to tell him, she would've told him that night itself on the phone. However, she didn't, so, he acted as if it never happened.

Also, he decided not to ask her about her week-long absence from school and her 4-month-long vacation in America. He figured that she wouldn't tell him about those anyway, so there really was no point in asking.

Some nights later, Rukawa again went to Hanayuki's house. This time, both Anzai-sensei and his wife were not at home, prompting him to agree when Hanayuki asked him if he would like to stay for dinner.

"Where are they?" Rukawa asked.

"Dinner, at a relative's house. They asked me to go as well, but I told them I wouldn't be able to reach home in time, so they went without me," Hanayuki explained.

After they had finished their dinner, she stood up and started clearing the table. "It's ok. I'll clear up everything," she said, when Rukawa made a move to help her.

"Are you sure?"

"Just make yourself at home," said Hanayuki, disappearing into the kitchen with the stack of dirty plates, forks and spoons.

Rukawa went into the living room and turned on the stereo, before sitting down on the sofa. He let his eyes wander around the room, until they fell on the stairway.

It only took him about a second of hesitation before he got up and walked up the stairs, heading towards the room at the end of the corridor. He opened the door and stepped inside, breathing in the familiar scent of the room he had gotten himself acquainted with since the past year. He looked around the room. _Nothing seems to have changed in here. _

He cast a glance at the dressing table, and his lips curved into the tiniest of smiles when he caught sight of the music box and the bottle containing the little slips of messages he had given Hanayuki for her birthday the year before.

Next, he looked over at the study table, where a huge box was placed on it. _This one looks new though. _He moved towards the table, stopping right in front of the box. _I wonder if it would be alright to have a look inside._

"Ahem."

He turned around to see Hanayuki leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on her face.

"Gomen," he said quietly, taking a step back from the box.

"It's ok. You didn't open it anyway," said Hanayuki, as she walked across the room to the table and picked up the box. "Unfortunately, this box is off-limits, so I cannot let you see what's inside," she continued, and proceeded to put the box in the closet. "However..."

She took out a few photo albums and handed them to Rukawa. "These aren't, so help yourself."

Rukawa placed them on the table and sat down on the chair, while Hanayuki crawled onto the bed and laid down on her stomach, her head propped up on her elbows. She watched as Rukawa leafed through the pages slowly.

The albums contained pictures from Hanayuki's younger days, starting from when she was still a baby to the time when she was in junior high school. It also contained pictures of Anzai-sensei and his wife with some other people, all of whom Rukawa assumed to be Hanayuki's adoptive siblings.

"Don't you have anything to ask me?" came Hanayuki's voice from the bed. "I mean, you can't possibly tell who's who in some of the pictures."

Rukawa chose to keep quiet, and Hanayuki let him. _He's bound to ask eventually, _she thought.

As if on cue, he swivelled around in the chair, held up the album and pointed to one picture. "Is this who I think it is?"

Hanayuki squinted at the picture, and smiled. "Yup. That's oniichan."

Rukawa looked at the picture again. _If it weren't for the red hair, I would never have thought that this unbelievably innocent-and-harmless-looking kid was that do'aho._

"He's really cute, isn't he?" asked Hanayuki, who was looking at him closely, trying to catch his expression, which was not easy to begin with, since it's Rukawa we're talking about.

Rukawa snorted. "You know, the definition of 'cute' is ugly but adorable."

"Uh-huh, I see."

Rukawa ignored the hint of amusement in Hanayuki's voice and turned to the next page. There were more pictures of Sakuragi and Hanayuki together, taken back in America when they were 7 years old. Hanayuki looked visibly pale but radiant, while Sakuragi looked bubbly and energetic.

"You know, oniichan is really a very nice guy. True, he may be a little violent-"

Rukawa snorted again. _A little? That's probably the understatement of the century._

"-and always acts impulsively, but deep down inside, he really is an all-around nice guy. He is kind and gentle, in a rough sort of way. You just have to get to know him better to find out, that's all."

_Right, as if I want to. _

Hanayuki rolled onto her back. "Can't you like, make peace with oniichan, Kaede? Put aside your differences and shake hands. You know that it will only benefit the two of you."

"Why should I?"

"Because, like I said, it will only benefit the two of you. Of course, that shouldn't be the only reason why you should make peace with oniichan. Isn't it better to have one more friend than one more enemy?"

"As if I care."

"Well, I do," said Hanayuki. "Really. Sometimes you guys can be so childish."

"You mean _he_ can be so childish."

"You are too, though oniichan may be the more childish one between the two of you."

Rukawa was about to say something when a picture fell out from between the pages. He picked it up, and his eyes widened in surprise. Looking back at him from the picture was a smiling Hanayuki in the arms of a rather good-looking man.

Rukawa immediately felt the very familiar tinge of anger and jealousy welling up inside of him. _Who the hell is this guy? What is his relationship with Yuki? When was this picture taken in the first place? _

He looked at the bottom right-hand corner of the picture and saw the date. His eyes widened in surprise again. _What the-? This picture was taken 18 years ago? How can it be? Yuki wasn't even born yet. _

He scrutinised the picture closely, and realised that the Hanayuki in the picture looked older and somewhat different from the Hanayuki he knew.

Holding up the picture, he asked her, "Who's this?"

Hanayuki rolled back onto her stomach to see what he was talking about. She broke into a soft smile. "Who do you think it is?"

When Rukawa didn't answer, she said, "That's my mother. My real mother. The man with her was my real father."

_I should have guessed. _"I see."

"You thought it was me, didn't you?" asked Hanayuki teasingly.

"No," Rukawa denied, though he was sure that Hanayuki didn't believe him. To his relief, she didn't press him to tell the truth, but started talking about her birth parents instead.

"Not including otousan and okaasan and a few other people, you're only the second person to have seen my birth parents. Even if it's only through a picture. The first was oniichan. Anyway, if you want to see more, it's in the blue album. This one must've slipped out from there without my noticing."

Rukawa reached for the album and flipped to the first page. Sure enough, there were more pictures of Hanayuki's birth parents, and starting from the 10th page or so, there were pictures of them with baby Hanayuki.

"They died in a car accident when I was 5," said Hanayuki. She was lying on her back again, hugging a pillow to her chest. "Because both of them were the only child in their families, and my grandparents were long dead, I had nobody to take me in. Otousan, who was a good friend of my father, decided to adopt me so that I didn't have to go the orphanage."

Rukawa closed the album and put it aside. Hanayuki almost never spoke to him about her past, and he was determined to find out as much as possible from this very rare chance. "What are their names?"

"My father was Tsukino Takehito, while my mother was Hara Eriko. She's half-Chinese, though; my maternal grandmother's a Chinese. My mother was very proud of her Chinese roots, and was determined that I at least know the language, so she started speaking to me in Chinese right after I was born, while my father stuck to Japanese." Hanayuki chuckled a little. "It's quite a burden for a baby, don't you think?"

"After she died, I didn't have anyone to learn Chinese from, so I took Chinese lessons, learning both Cantonese and Mandarin. To me, it was a way to keep myself connected to her, to always remind myself of her. Despite having only spent 5 years with her, 6 if you include the 9 months of pregnancy, I was very close to my mother."

"As for my father, I was never really close to him. Maybe it's because he was always busy with his work and was seldom at home. The truth is, I don't remember anymore. I was only a few years old then. All I knew was that my father had been sent to America to manage the American branch of the Japanese company he was working for. At least, that was what otousan had told me when I was older."

"Anyway, since I was born in America, according to their laws of citizenship, I became an American citizen by default. Therefore, I was able to stay on legally. Apart from needing to receive treatment for my heart problems, otousan thought that it would be better if I stayed there, so I did. For the next 6 to 7 years, I stayed with my adoptive brother, Tomo-niichan, who had been living there for quite some time."

"You came to Japan when you were 12," said Rukawa, in a question-like manner.

Hanayuki sat up, still hugging the pillow and facing Rukawa. "Yes. I wanted to come to Japan and see what it's like, so I pestered otousan to let me start my high school education here, and after a lot of begging, he finally agreed, and I came. Although I was born in America, my father and my mother were Japanese citizens. As such, I was conferred the Japanese citizenship by descent, and therefore could come and study here without much hassle, though I still had to apply for a visa."

"I guess you already knew what happened next. My first year of junior high school, I went to Negishi. Then, something... unexpected, came up, and I had to return to America the year after that, before coming back to continue my third year of junior high school in Tomigaoka."

She smiled, as she recalled something. "I still remember seeing you for the first time. It was during a basketball practice in the gym. Of course, I already knew who you were before that. Rukawa Kaede, the star and captain of the basketball team. You, on the other hand, never knew I existed."

The expression on Rukawa's face softened. "I do now," he said softly.

Just then, the grandfather clock downstairs began to chime. Hanayuki glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Well, it's getting late," she announced. "I think you'd better go home now, it would be too dangerous if you went later." Getting up from the bed, she made her way downstairs, followed by Rukawa.

As usual, Hanayuki walked him to the gate. Before he got on his bicycle, he asked Hanayuki one last question.

"What is your real name?"

Hanayuki looked surprised at the question. "You mean, the one before it changed to Hanayuki?"

Rukawa nodded his head.

"It's Aoi. Tsukino Aoi." She gave him a small smile. "You know, they used to call me 'blue moon', back when I was studying in America. Kinda cute, actually, don't you think?"

Rukawa shrugged in answer. "I still prefer Hanayuki."

"Of course you do. After all, I did say the name is cute, meaning that in truth it's really an ugly but adorable name."

"That's not what I meant."

Hanayuki laughed. "I know. Now get going already. Be careful on your way back, and-"

"Don't fall asleep," Rukawa finished for her.

"Just be careful alright. Don't go knocking things all over the place." Muttering under her breath, she continued, "Though I doubt that you wouldn't."

"Nani?"

"Nothing," said Hanayuki, in a singsong tone. She raised her hand and fluttered her fingers in a little wave, smiling. "See you tomorrow, ne."

"Hai," said Rukawa, as he cycled away. "_Blue moon._"

"I heard that, Rukawa Kaede!" Hanayuki shouted after him, laughing.

What she didn't hear though, was Rukawa's own soft laughter.

---

Author's notes: Hora! 2nd chapter done! Thank you so much to all who read and reviewed: Jen, fdf, Hikaru Itsuko and Kiku Rukawa. Thank you!!! By the way, just a bit of information, Hara Eriko is the seiyuu for Ayako. And, um, if there are any grammatical errors, do tell me. I do the beta-reading myself, you see, and my English isn't that good. I keep wondering if this is correct or if that is wrong. Arigatou gozaimashita. By the way, about the citizenship thingy, it's actually like this: The US citizenship system is jus soli, meaning that anybody born in the country is automatically a US citizen. As for Japan, if the father is a Japanese citizen, then the child itself becomes one too by descent. In this case, Hanayuki has dual citizenship. However, because Japan does not recognise dual citizenships, she has to choose by the age of 22 whether to retain her US citizenship, or her Japanese citizenship. I got this information from the Net. Oh, and before I forget, for anonymous reviewers, please leave your email add so that I can contact you and answer whatever questions you have. Thank you!!!


	3. 2 guys, a girl & a fever

**Chapter 3: 2 guys, a girl & a fever **

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggg!!!

Hanayuki reluctantly opened her eyes when the alarm clock went off. Reaching out blindly, she turned it off. _I'm so tired..._

She forced herself to sit up and swung her legs to the side of the bed. Then, she stood up. _That's funny. Isn't it supposed to be morning already? Why is it getting darker and darker in here?_

The last thing she saw before darkness took over her was the whole room turned upside-down.

_---_

"She looks so pale."

"How long has she been sleeping, ojisan?"

"What did the doctor say?"

"Guys, keep it down. You're going to wake her up."

"Look, she's waking up!"

"See! I told you guys to keep your voices down."

"Hana-chan!"

"How are you feeling my dear?"

"Okaasan..." Hanayuki croaked.

"Shhh... don't talk just yet, my dear. You're down with fever. You need to rest more," said Mrs Anzai, as she brushed away the hair from Hanayuki's face.

"How long have I been sleeping, okaasan?"

"Well, I found you lying on the floor at about 7 in the morning." Mrs Anzai looked at the clock on the wall. "It is now almost 6. That means you've been sleeping for about 11 hours or so."

"Sou ka? No wonder I feel so tired," said Hanayuki. She looked past Mrs Anzai to see Anzai-sensei, Sakuragi, Rukawa, Miyagi, Ayako, Ichiro and Haruko standing a little further behind. "Hey guys. You're all here."

"How are you feeling now, Hana-chan?" asked Sakuragi.

Hanayuki laughed a little at the question. "Um... tired?"

"Oh."

Ayako whacked him on the head with her fan. "Baka, she just said so earlier and you had to go and ask her again."

"Do'aho."

"Rukawa, don't make me fight you here."

Thwack!

Thwack!

"Not a chance," said Ayako, brandishing her fan.

Mrs Anzai clapped her hands a few times. "Alright, everybody out of this room. There're too many of you here, I can hardly breathe myself. Hurry up now."

"Take good care of yourself, Hana-chan," said Sakuragi, before leaving the room.

"Hai, I will," Hanayuki replied. "Thanks for coming to see me guys."

When they were all out of the room, she turned to Anzai-sensei. "Otousan, the dinner tonight..."

"It's cancelled. I've already called them up to tell them what happened," Anzai-sensei told her.

Hanayuki nodded her head slightly. "Ok."

"He said he'll be coming over to see you though. Later tonight," he continued.

"Ok."

"For now," Mrs Anzai chipped in, "you are going to rest. A lot."

"I've already slept for 11 hours, okaasan. It's more than enough rest as it is."

"Not in my opinion, it's not. Now go to sleep. If you need me, I'll be downstairs in the kitchen. I'll be coming up to check on you every 10 minutes or so, alright?"

"Right," said Hanayuki, sighing softly. Smiling a little, she added, "Arigatou, okaasan." She closed her eyes, and was asleep in a matter of seconds.

Mrs Anzai's eyebrows creased a little as she looked at her daughter. She looked at her husband, who looked back at her.

"Daijoubu. She's a very strong girl. She'll be up and about in no time," Anzai-sensei assured her.

"I know. I know she's a strong girl. After all she'd gone through, there's nothing else she could be. It's just that, I can't help but wish that she didn't have to be."

Anzai-sensei approached his wife and put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go downstairs," he said, guiding her towards the door. After taking one last look at Hanayuki, he closed the door behind him.

---

Later...

Hanayuki opened her eyes when she felt, rather than heard, someone walking into the room. Turning her head slightly, she smiled weakly at the person sitting beside the bed. "You're here."

Smiling back, he said, "Yeah. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, and exhausted. I can hardly lift a finger."

He reached out to take her hand. "I'll give you a hand then."

Hanayuki smiled again. "Thanks." She made a move to get up, and he quickly helped her into a sitting position, making sure that she was comfortable.

"You really should take it easy, Yuki. You're stressing yourself out."

Hanayuki raised an eyebrow. "No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not. I'm not having a fever because I'm stressed out. Nobody gets a fever from too much stress."

"You _are _having a fever now, from too much stress. Tell you what, from now on, I'll come and pick you up once every two days. That way, you won't be too tired out."

When Hanayuki opened her mouth to protest, he held up a hand to stop her. "Look, if you have to go to school in the morning, attend practice in the afternoon, and then come to my house at night, you'll find yourself having fever every now and then. We wouldn't want that to happen, now, would we?" he suggested.

Hanayuki looked at him in disbelief. "First of all, I didn't have a fever because I was too stressed out. That's absolutely ridiculous. Second, I'm not going to have a fever every now and then. That's totally unthinkable."

"Any more protests and I'll make it once a week."

A look of defeat registered on Hanayuki's already tired-looking face, as she sighed and nodded her head. "Fine."

"Good!" He looked around the room. "You know what, this is the first time I've been to your room."

"Hmm, I see. So what do you think of it?"

"Nice. Very nice. What wouldn't I give to be able to spend the night here," he commented.

"Excuse me-" Hanayuki started, but was cut off.

"Don't worry. I know very well that the only person who can do that is Rukawa."

Hanayuki shot him a warning glance. "Now hold on a second. I never said-"

"He is very lucky, ne, that Rukawa."

"You're pushing it," Hanayuki warned.

"Hai, hai. Gomen nasai," he said, laughing. "But really, I truly envy that guy."

Hanayuki shook her head. "Mattaku. You know, you remind me so much of someone." (A/n: Mattaku means something along the line 'I cannot believe you'. That is, according to my understanding. Do correct me if I got it wrong.)

"Dare da?" (Translation: Who?)

"Aki."

"You mean Sendoh Akira? In what sense?"

"Can't really tell. But, to put it simply, both of you like to do things which annoy me to no end."

He laughed again. "Oh really? I didn't know that. You know I never really got to meet or talk to him in person."

"Indeed."

"Maybe one day I should, don't you think?"

"I'm sure you'll have the chance to do so in the future. Anyway, don't you have classes tomorrow?" asked Hanayuki, frowning a little.

"I have one at 9 in the morning."

The frown on her face deepened. "Then what're you doing here?"

"See you, of course."

"Well, now that you've already seen me, you can go back and rest. You don't want to end up like me too, do you?" Hanayuki said, gesturing to herself.

"I'm not as weak as you are, you know," he insulted playfully.

Hanayuki narrowed her eyes. "You're so lucky I'm out of energy, or you would've found yourself thrown out of the window."

"I'd like to see you try," he said laughingly, before holding up his hands in surrender mode. "Alright, I'll go. You take good care of yourself, you hear?"

"I will. Now get out of here."

"I'm going already. Geez! You could've shown some appreciation for my coming to see you," he mumbled in mock resentment.

"You should appreciate that I couldn't move from this bed and throw you out myself," Hanayuki called after his retreating back.

In response, he looked back and stuck out his tongue. Hanayuki made a face, before bursting out laughing and waved.

As soon as he was gone, Mrs Anzai walked into the room, carrying a bowl of hot soup.

Setting the bowl on the bedside table, she sat down and smiled at Hanayuki. "I see you're feeling much better already, Hana-chan."

"Who wouldn't, okaasan, after sleeping for-" Hanayuki glanced at the clock, "-almost 15 hours straight."

"Even so, you're not just energized, but happier as well. I knew he would be able to cheer you up." Mrs Anzai placed her hand on Hanayuki's. "He's a good boy."

"Yes. He is a wonderful person." Hanayuki leaned back against the pillow propped up behind her. "If it wasn't for him, I would never have been able to manage everything up till now."

Just then, her phone began to ring.

"I'll get it," said Mrs Anzai, reaching for the phone on the bedside table. "Moshi moshi."

There was a pause, as she listened to the caller. "You wish to speak to Hana-chan?" She glanced at Hanayuki, who gestured for the phone to be given to her. "Please hold on a second."

Hanayuki took the phone from her mother and spoke into the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hana! Long time no see. How are you?" Sendoh's voice came through.

Hanayuki's lips curved into a small smile. "I'm fine, Aki. How are you?" She looked up when Mrs Anzai tapped her on the shoulder. "Aki, I'm sorry, but can you please hold on for a while?"

Lowering the phone, Hanayuki addressed the older lady. "Yes, okaasan?"

"I'll be downstairs if you need me. Make sure you finish the soup," Mrs Anzai instructed.

"I will, okaasan. Thank you." Hanayuki waited for Mrs Anzai to disappear behind the door before putting the phone to her ear again. "Aki? Gomen. Anyway, how are you?"

"Well, at first I wasn't doing so well, but after hearing your voice, I'm feeling much better already."

"After all these months, you didn't change, did you?" she asked, smirking a little.

"Nope. My feelings for you will never change."

"Right..." said Hanayuki, amused. "Anyway, I'm sure you called for something, Aki-kun?"

"I knew it, Hana. You are the only one who understands me this well."

"And I'm sure you understand me well too. Well enough to know that I'll hang up on you if you don't get to the main point," said Hanayuki.

"Alright, alright. I called to ask if we can arrange a practice game for our teams."

"A practice game?" Hanayuki echoed.

"Yeah. Like what we did last year. Only this time, we'll be coming over to your school and not the other way round," he explained.

"In other words, you'd like to come and visit?"

"And play, Hana. Don't forget play."

A sudden thought occurred to Hanayuki. "Tell me, Aki. Are you, by any chance, the one who proposed this practice game to Taoka-sensei?"

"Hana, you're absolutely brilliant! How did you know?"

"Just a lucky guess," Hanayuki answered, stifling a sigh.

"So, what do you think?"

Hanayuki gave it a thought, before replying, "I guess it's fine. When do you think you guys can come over for the game?"

"Oh, anytime. How about next week? Is that enough time for your team to prepare for the game?"

"Excuse me? What are you trying to imply here, Aki?"

"Hahaha! Nothing, nothing! Really! Hahaha!" Sendoh laughed nervously on the other side of the line, having heard the threatening tone in Hanayuki's voice.

"Uh-huh..." She couldn't help but smile at his always-cheerful-no-matter-what attitude.

"So we'll see you guys next week Saturday afternoon, right?"

"Yeah."

There was a momentary pause. "I really look forward to seeing you again." This time, there was no hint of a smile in Sendoh's voice, which goes to show Hanayuki just how much he meant what he had just said.

She smiled ruefully. "Yeah. Me too."

"Well, I'll see you then. Good night, Hana."

"Good night, Aki."

Hanayuki gazed at the phone for a moment, before placing it back on the bedside table and took the bowl of soup with both hands, savouring the warmth emitting from the soup through the bowl.

_What wouldn't I give to be able to spend the night here._

_My feelings for you will never change._

Hanayuki smiled to herself. _Baka. Maa, I guess I'm very lucky to have 2 bakas as good friends. _

---

Room 114, Fukasawa University...

Hanagata looked up from his textbook when his roommate walked into the room.

"You're early tonight," he remarked.

Fujima plopped down on his bed, giving Hanagata a tired smile. "Yeah. Something unexpected cropped up, so I came back earlier."

Hanagata took off his glasses and wiped them with his shirt. "You know, I really don't understand. I mean, your parents are not at home and won't be for most of the year, so why do you still have to go back home every night?"

"I told you, I have to make sure that everything at home is alright. Okaasan specifically asked me to do so before she left for America," said Fujima.

"Still, every night is a bit too tedious, don't you think?"

Fujima laid on his back, his hands cushioning his head. "Well, I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," said Hanagata, putting on his glasses again. "I say once a week is good enough."

"No, that's too little," said Fujima.

"Ok, twice a week then."

"Nope."

"Three times a week."

Fujima shook his head. "Two days once. That would be perfect."

Hanagata raised his eyebrows. "Are you kidding me? What's the difference between that and going every night?"

"The difference is, I don't have to go every night if I go once every two days," came the reply.

Hanagata sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, have it your way." He returned to his book, only to close it a couple of minutes later. He turned to face Fujima again. "You know, we can always take turns to go. I don't mind. After all, two heads are better than one."

Fujima smiled gratefully at his friend-cum-roommate-cum-team-mate. "I know. Thanks a lot. But, well, I can handle it myself just fine."

"That's what you say. This is what I say: you need help."

Fujima chuckled a little. "No, I don't. Look, I promise I won't hesitate to ask you for help when the time comes, alright? So, you really don't have to remind me every now and then."

"Yeah, let's all cross our fingers and hope that it would be sometime before the day I die," Hanagata said.

This time, Fujima laughed. "What is it with you and help, Hanagata?"

Hanagata laughed too. "What, can't you accept the fact that I'm one very helpful guy?"

"Well, not when you keep on insisting that I need help. Really, didn't anybody ever tell you that you should only give help when and where it is needed?" Fujima sat up. "Never mind. You know what, I would very much like to call it a night now. I'm dead tired."

Hanagata held up his hands in surrender mode. "Alright. Fine. Whatever. I'm going to bed too." He stood up and turned off the lights, leaving the small table lamp on his table on. "Good night, Fujima."

"Good night." Fujima buried his face deep into the pillow, pulling the blanket around him, before sitting up suddenly.

"What's wrong?" asked Hanagata.

"Nothing. I almost forgot to set the alarm clock, that's all," Fujima replied. He reached for the alarm clock on his bedside table.

"Oh, I remember. You have a class at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning, right?"

"That's right. Poor me."

"Yeah, poor you. Anyway, good night again," Hanagata greeted for the last time, before dozing off to sleep in an instant.

Fujima yawned, his eyelids getting heavier as he snuggled under the blankets once more. "Good night, Hanagata."

---

Author's notes: Thank you to aki midori, Hikaru Itsuko and Jen for reading and reviewing. Just to let you know, the title of this story, 'For As Long As It Takes', was suggested by aki midori. aki's a fantabulous fic writer. I'm proud to say that I've read almost 99 of aki's fics, all of them Senru, though I never and still don't like the pairing. That just goes to show how good a writer aki is. Oh yes, before I forget, I need opinions from you guys. Would you like me to include some basketball matches, or would you rather I leave them out completely? Do tell me your thoughts.


	4. The practice game

**Chapter 4: The practice game **

Saturday, Shohoku High School...

"We're here," Hikoichi announced, as they (as in the Ryonan basketball team) stood at the entrance of Shohoku High School. "Minna, this is Shohoku High School, home of the Shohoku basketball team, who had beaten us last year by a small margin to become the second best team in Kanagawa. Later, in the National Championships, they had gone on to beat Sannoh, the previous champ-"

"URUSAI, HIKOICHI!!!"

Hikoichi eeped at the sight of Taoka-sensei's humongous head, which had grown to twice its original size, and ran to hide behind Sendoh.

Sendoh just laughed at the sight. "Let's go, guys."

They weren't even 10 steps forward when Sendoh stopped in his tracks, causing the rest of the team to bump into him.

"What's wrong, Sendoh?" asked Koshino.

When he didn't get any answer, he followed his friend's line of sight, and saw the source of the brightened look on Sendoh's face.

---

Hanayuki was on her way to the gym when she heard her name being called.

"Hana!"

Looking to her left, she saw Sendoh running up to her. "Aki!"

Before she could say anything else, she was literally lifted off her feet and swung around, before given a bear hug, not unlike the one Sakuragi and Rukawa had given her back on her first day at school, only this time, it didn't look like he was going to let her go any time soon.

"Er, Aki... I can't breathe... " said Hanayuki, choking a little.

"Eh? Ah, gomen! Are you alright?" he asked, letting go off her immediately.

"Still breathing." She looked up at him and smiled. "Hisashiburi ne, Aki?"

"Aa. It's been a very, very long time since we last met, Hana. I missed you so much." He pulled her into an embrace again.

"I missed you too," came Hanayuki's muffled voice. "Anou, do you think you can loosen your grip a little? I'm running out of oxygen here."

"Ehehe... sorry again." Sendoh pulled away, but still held Hanayuki by the shoulder. "You know, this is the first time I've seen you in your school uniform. You really do look like a student."

Hanayuki gave him an incredulous look. "Of course I look like a student. I _am _a student."

Sendoh laughed. "Sou, sou!"

"Sendoh! What do you think you're doing?"

Both of them turned around to see the whole Ryonan team looking at them. Taoka-sensei had his hands planted on his hips, a vein clearly throbbing on his forehead, while Hikoichi was busy scribbling in his notebook.

Hanayuki smiled and bowed. "Konnichiwa, Taoka-sensei."

Taoka-sensei ignored her and turned to Sendoh. "Sendoh, I will not have this kind of behaviour coming from you. This is no time to be flirting with the first girl you lay your eyes on."

"But sensei, Hana's a good friend. Besides-"

"I don't care who she is," Taoka-sensei cut him off. "She can be your mother for all I care. You will behave properly at all times, especially now that we're in Shohoku's grounds."

"But sensei, she's not my mother. In fact, she's someone more important. She's-"

"Enough, Sendoh! Now let's get going." Without waiting for Sendoh to explain, Taoka-sensei led the rest of the team towards the gym.

Sendoh and Hanayuki exchanged a look and a shrug, before making their way to the gym behind them.

---

In the gym...

"Nyahahahaha! Sendoh, this time I'll definitely beat you!"

"I'll be looking forward to it, Sakuragi."

Hanayuki smiled to herself as she recalled how her brother had said the same words to Sendoh in the practice game the previous year. "Ganbatte, oniichan!"

"Don't worry, Hana-chan. The Tensai won't lose the second time," Sakuragi declared, striking his Tensai pose. Just then, Rukawa walked past.

"Do'aho."

"Kitsune, you had better not get in the way this time."

"It is you who had better not get in the way, do'aho."

The game began soon after, and right from the start, the competition had been very close and tough. Whenever Shohoku scored a point, Ryonan would catch up soon enough. There were visible improvements in both Sakuragi's and Rukawa's skills, but Sendoh too, had improved, making him even harder to handle than ever.

And, from the looks of it, Ryonan had gotten themselves a couple of rather good first-years. Fortunately, Shohoku didn't lose out in this factor. Turned out that Mikage had a knack for three-point shots, just like how Mitsui had been when he was still in the team. Tendo, on the other hand, had very good rebounding skills, and was also a fast runner.

"Sempai!" Tendo called to Sakuragi, who was being marked by Fukuda tightly and unable to get away.

Left with no choice, Sakuragi passed the ball to his junior, who then quickly eluded his opponent, charging towards the Ryonan basket at full speed. However, before he could reach the basket, he was blocked by Sendoh. Slightly overwhelmed, Tendo lost hold of the ball, which was neatly caught by Koshino.

"Tendo teme! What do you think you are doing?" yelled Sakuragi, as he chased after Ryonan's vice-captain.

He managed to catch up to Koshino, but before he could get his hands on the ball, Koshino passed it to Sendoh. As usual, Rukawa was right at his heels, but that didn't stop Sendoh from getting past the younger boy's defense and putting the ball into Shohoku's basket.

Shohoku's ball, Miyagi passed to Rukawa, who made a show of trying to force his way through Sendoh's defense, but gave the ball to Mikage instead. It turned out that Mikage was standing right before the three-point line unmarked, giving him the opportunity to put in a three-pointer with ease.

Later, Fukuda's pass to Sendoh was intercepted by Sakuragi, who quickly ran off the other side of the court. When he was about to dunk the ball into the basket, Sendoh appeared behind him to tap the ball away, but Sakuragi unexpectedly and successfully avoided it by changing techniques at the last second and did a lay-up shot.

Sendoh was clearly impressed; Rukawa grudgingly so, while Ayako commented, "Sakuragi has improved a lot, hasn't he?"

"Of course he has. He's always improving himself. I don't think the day will ever come when oniichan stops improving," said Hanayuki.

"Hohoho!" Anzai-sensei laughed, agreeing with Hanayuki.

On the court, Sendoh was saying the same thing to Sakuragi.

"Sakuragi, I see you have improved."

"Nyahahahaha! I'm the Tensai! Of course I have improved. Nyahahahaha!" came Sakuragi's proud reply.

"Do'aho," Rukawa muttered, as he walked past the two.

"Teme kitsune! You're just jealous that this Tensai performed better than you!"

On the bench, Ayako slapped her forehead. "Here they go again."

"It's ok, Ayako-san. They're just warming up," said Hanayuki.

"You mean there's more?"

Hanayuki nodded her head. "Oh yes, I'm expecting more from them," she replied, a small smile playing on her lips.

The score was 32-30, there were 2 minutes left to play in the first half, and Shohoku was leading by 2 points. And that was it. Ryonan began to attack incessantly, scoring and scoring until it was they who were leading, by 8 points.

By the time the first-half of the game was over, the score was 41-45, in favour of Ryonan. Needless to say, Sakuragi was furious that they were in the lead.

"Kuso! How can this be? How can they lead us by 4 points when we have the Tensai here?" he ranted.

Knowing that his rants would last longer if he was interrupted in the middle of it, Hanayuki waited until he had stopped before making her point. "Oniichan, Kaede, do you remember what I've told you on my first day at school?"

The two sophomores looked at her, glanced at each other, and looked at her again.

"I said I don't care if you guys can't get along outside the court, but on the court, you have no choice," she went on. "Now, I'm going to tell you what I've told you before last year, when we had the practice game against Ryonan. If you want to win this game, you'll have to work together."

"Both of you have improved a lot, no doubt about it, but so has Aki. If anything, he's probably the new number one player in Kanagawa now that Maki-san is not around. You do remember how we had to assign 4 people to handle Maki-san, don't you? We managed to stop him, remember? Anyway, my point is, the only thing that could beat Aki is teamwork. And the core of this teamwork-" she pointed a finger from each hand at each of them respectively, "-is your partnership."

"I'm not asking a lot. You've worked together before, and you've seen for yourselves the power that can be generated from it. Need I say more?" She looked at them expectantly. "Now, are you ready to kick some Ryonan butt?"

"Nyahahahaha! Hana-chan, I'll kick their butt so hard they'll find themselves on the way to the moon."

"Do'aho." _I say we kick them to the sun and let the heat roast their butts. _

Hanayuki smiled. "Very good. Just let me spice things up a little." She turned to where the Ryonan team was gathered and called out, "Hey, Aki!"

Sendoh's head popped out from amongst the many heads in the group. "Hai, Hana?"

"Oniichan and Kaede said they're going to kick your butt so hard you'll be flying all the way into outer space. You know what to do right?"

Sendoh winked and gave her a thumbs-up. "Of course. I love it when people say they're going to kick my butt, because then, I'm going to enjoy kicking their butts even more."

"I'm glad to hear that." Hanayuki winked back. "Ganbatte yo."

"Hana-chan, why are you cheering for him?" asked Sakuragi, aghast. Beside him, Rukawa looked equally horrified, if you can call his widened eyes an effect from being horrified.

"Well, by cheering for him, he'll be all fired up to beat you guys, and in return, you guys will be more fired up to beat him," she reasoned.

The referee blew the whistle to signal for both teams to return to the court. Hanayuki smacked the duo on their backs. "Go do some kicking."

The game was resumed for the second-half, and like in the first-half, it was a close and fierce competition between the two teams, although at first, Ryonan's lead widened from 4 to 10 points, much to Shohoku's horror.

Rukawa and Sakuragi were standing about a metre away from each other when Hanayuki shouted at them.

"Oniichan, Kaede! What in the whole wide world do you think you're doing??!"

It was so loud that everybody's attention was focused on her. And the two people she was addressing.

"Why is it that I have to tell you the same thing over and over again?! Do you guys really want to lose that much??! I thought you told me that you're going to kick Aki's butt! Well, I don't see that happening!" she yelled, her arms flailing up and down.

While the whole Shohoku team sweatdropped, Sendoh started laughing.

"See! He's laughing at you now! I demand that you kick him quick, and kick him hard! If you can't do it alone, then do it together! Isn't that what I had told you earlier on? How could you have forgotten about it so quickly??!"

Embarrassed and somewhat encouraged by Hanayuki's outburst, Sakuragi and Rukawa bounced back, showing Ryonan what they were really made of by finally working together. Their spectacular partnership caused Ryonan to lose their balance, and slowly, Shohoku regained the points which they had lost earlier, enough to topple Ryonan from leading by 10 points to lagging behind by 2 points.

However, Sendoh wasn't called the genius for nothing, and with only 10 seconds left in the game, he managed to upset the partnership that was Rukawa and Sakuragi and scored the much needed 2 points to tie the game. The score was 90-90.

"Kuso! It was so close, Hana-chan! One more kick, and Sendoh will be on a one-way ticket to the moon!" Sakuragi started ranting again.

Hanayuki laughed and patted him on the shoulder. It didn't matter to her that they only tied the game. What mattered was the fact that her brother and Rukawa had worked together and pulled Shohoku out of a crisis. "Apparently, oniichan, you didn't aim well or kick hard enough. But it's ok. At least we didn't lose. You'll have other chances to do so in the future."

"Hana's right," came Sendoh's voice. He walked over to Hanayuki and slipped an arm around her waist, promptly earning himself a glare from both Rukawa and Sakuragi and a slap on the hand by Hanayuki.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Aki. You don't want Taoka-sensei to scream his head off at you," Hanayuki warned.

"Hai, hai. Wakatta," said Sendoh while rubbing his hand. "By the way, will you be free next Saturday?"

Hanayuki eyed him curiously. "Why do you ask?"

"There's something I would like you to have, and I thought that maybe, if you could come out next Saturday, I would give it to you then."

"Well-"

"She can't go," Sakuragi butted in. "Next week we're going to see Gori, Megane-kun and Mitchy at Fukasawa University."

"Oh, what for?" asked Sendoh.

"They're in the university's basketball team, and next week they're playing against Tokyo University in a practice game. Hisashi-niichan asked us to go and give them support," Hanayuki explained.

"You're not going to be watching them the whole day, right? How about later?" Sendoh pressed.

"I'm afraid I still can't, Aki. For one thing, I'm not going to watch them play."

"Nani??! Why not, Hana-chan?" asked Sakuragi.

"I've got something to do on that day, oniichan. I told you guys about it, remember?" she reminded him.

Sakuragi scratched the back of his head. "You did?"

"Yes I did," Hanayuki insisted. She turned to Sendoh. "Gomen ne, Aki. Maybe some other time?"

"Yeah sure. Why not? I'll-" Sendoh broke off when he heard Koshino calling for him in the background. "I got to go. I'll give you a call, and then we'll talk about it, alright?"

He gave Hanayuki a quick peck on the cheek and sprinted off, before she could say anything or Sakuragi or Rukawa can react. Not that they didn't react though.

"Sendoh, you hentai! Come back here! Nobody kisses the Tensai's sister and gets away with it. I said come back here!" Sakuragi yelled after him.

Rukawa too was furious, though you wouldn't be able to tell from the non-expression on his face. _I swear to Kami-sama I'm going to kill him the next time I see him and dump him into the ocean with his fish friends! _

Hanayuki just sighed and shook her head, as the younger members of the Shohoku basketball team jumped in to hold Sakuragi back. _Aki no baka, you never learn, do you?_

---

The next day, at a supermarket...

_Where on earth is the canned-food section? _thought Sendoh to himself, as he wandered around the aisles in the supermarket, looking at the signs hanging above his head. _I can't believe okaasan. Just because the supermarket near our house didn't have the particular brand of canned mushrooms she usually bought, she had to send me all the way here to get some. And, she could have told me yesterday, when I was around the area after the practice game with Shohoku. Geez... _

Just then, out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of a familiar figure walking down the aisle. _Aha! A saviour! _

---

"Fujima-san!"

Fujima was pushing his trolley along the dairy section when he heard someone calling his name.

"Sendoh?" he exclaimed, surprised to see the captain of the Ryonan basketball team there. "What are you doing here?"

Sendoh laughed in reply. "What else can you do in a supermarket, Fujima-san?"

"Oh, right."

"Anyway, I was wondering if you can tell me where the canned-food section is. I'm on a grocery errand for my mother see, and she asked me to buy this particular brand of canned mushroom for her, but I can't seem to find which aisle they're in," said Sendoh, all in one breath.

"Um, ok. It's right there, Sendoh. See that sign? Just go straight, and turn into the 2nd last aisle on your left," said Fujima, pointing to the said directions.

"Oh, thank you, Fujima-san! You really saved me from a lot of trouble. By the way, are you shopping for groceries alone?"

Before Fujima could say anything, a little girl came running up to him from around the corner. "Otouchan, I want this chocolate!"

"Hai, hai." Fujima took the bar of chocolate from her and put it in the trolley. "Where's your okaachan?"

The little girl shook her head.

"Ah, sou ka?" said Fujima. Looking up, he saw Sendoh grinning mischievously at him.

"Wow, Fujima-san, I didn't know you actually have a daughter of your own. So lucky, ne?"

"Actually-" Fujima started to say, but was cut off by a voice coming from behind Sendoh.

"Kenji, is Aoi-chan with you?"

Still grinning madly, Sendoh turned around to face the owner of the voice, and felt the grin froze on his face.

---

Author's notes: Thank you to Kiku who reviewed. I'll try my best to put in some matches. But, please note that I will not elaborate much on games in which Shohoku goes up against teams they had played before, like Ryonan, Shoyo, and Kainan etc. Instead, I'll make them go up against new teams, teams which were mentioned in the manga that Shohoku never got to meet. Those would be in later chapters. Because I have nothing to base the games on, it will be purely fictional. So please bear with me. Thanks!!!


	5. Aoichan

**Chapter 5: Aoi-chan **

Fukasawa University, basketball gym...

"Mitchy! Gori! Megane-kun!"

Mitsui glared at the redhead who was standing above him on the audience stand. "Sakuragi, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? It's Mitsui-sempai to you."

"Maa, maa, Mitsui. I must say, it's been a while since I last heard the nickname. It kinda brings back old memories, ne, Sakuragi?" said Kogure. He was still the peace-loving guy, ever ready to step in to bring peace and harmony to the world, in this case, the gym.

"Nyahahahaha! Megane-kun, I knew you would miss this Tensai! Who wouldn't? Nyahahahaha!" Sakuragi laughed, putting on his Tensai pose.

Akagi snorted. "Tensai? What Tensai? I only see a baka with red hair who only knows how to brag and talk nonsense."

"Gori! How could you say that to the Tensai?!"

"Tensai my foot! If you're the Tensai, then I'm Kami-sama," said Mitsui.

"Teme Mitchy!"

"Maa, maa..."

Hanagata laughed at the scene before him. "So this is how Shohoku was like last year. Very lively, if I may say so myself."

"What you call lively, I call irritating and annoying to the core," said Akagi. "Anyway, where is Fujima?"

Hanagata shook his head. "Don't know. He didn't tell me anything."

"It doesn't matter. There's the devil." Akagi pointed, and everyone turned to look.

---

Up in the audience stand...

"What is Fujima doing up here when's he supposed to be down there?" asked Ayako to no one in particular.

"And who's that cute little girl with him?" Miyagi wondered. They looked at the girl, who was about the age of 3-4, wearing a blue frilly frock, her mass of long brownish-black hair tied up with a blue ribbon in a ponytail.

"She's so cute!" Haruko gushed.

"And she's coming this way," Ichiro added. They watched as the girl wriggled away from the hands of the middle-aged woman who was with Fujima and came running in their direction.

"Aoi-chan! Come back here!" Fujima shouted after the little girl. When she didn't seem to be listening to him, he ran after her, catching up just as the little girl latched herself to the legs of a very surprised Rukawa.

"Kawaii! Rukawa-kun, she likes you!" Haruko said.

Rukawa looked down at the little girl, who was hanging on to him as if her life depended on it.

"Ah, gomen ne, Rukawa. I'll get her off you soon," Fujima apologised, before reaching out to carry the girl away. "Aoi-chan, be a good girl and let go of the oniichan, ok?"

To the surprise of everybody else and the horror of Rukawa, she started bawling her eyes out.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Aoi-chan! Now don't cry. You're going to dirty the oniichan's pants," Fujima tried to pacify her, but she only cried louder than ever.

Just as Rukawa was about to peel her off him, she looked up at him with those big, blue, teary eyes of hers. His hands stopped in mid-air. _She..._

"Niichan, I want to sit with you... please..." she pleaded with her babyish voice.

"Aoi-chan, why do you want to sit here?" Fujima questioned the girl.

"Because... um... because..." she bit her lip, hesitating.

"Go on, Aoi-chan," Fujima prompted gently.

"I like this niichan!" she said brightly.

"But don't you like otouchan anymore?" asked Fujima.

Everybody turned to look at Fujima, eyes wide and mouths agape.

Fujima sweatdropped and took a deep breath. "Aoi-chan, why don't you listen to otouchan and go sit with Midori-kaachan?"

Aoi-chan pouted, but went anyway, leaving Fujima alone with the Shohoku team.

"Anou... Fujima-san, why is she calling you otouchan? You're not... um, her... you know..." Ayako started, not knowing how to continue.

"No, Ayako-san, I'm not her father," Fujima clarified.

"Then why is she calling you that?" Miyagi asked.

"Well, her father was my cousin, see, who unfortunately had passed away a year after she was born. After his death, his wife, I mean Aoi-chan's mother, decided to go to work in America, where she had been offered a rather high-paying job. She didn't want to bring Aoi-chan along, so she left her in my family's care, since both her parents and my cousin's were already dead," Fujima explained.

"That doesn't explain how you came to be her, er, otouchan," said Ayako.

"I felt sorry for her, having lost her father at such a young age, so I decided to act as her father, for the time being, that is."

"Meaning, you will tell her the truth when the time comes?" asked Miyagi.

"Yes."

Ayako nodded her head. "Ok. So today, you brought her here because..."

"She said she wanted to watch me play basketball, so I brought her here with Midori-kaachan, who used to be my nanny. She's the one who has been taking care of Aoi-chan for the past two years or so."

"I see."

"Oh look, here she comes again," said Haruko.

This time, Aoi-chan wrapped herself around Fujima's leg. "Otouchan, I really want to sit with that niichan. Please..."

Fujima knelt down and brought the girl close to him. "But I don't think he's going to like it, Aoi-chan."

"But why?" she asked. The tears were quickly forming in her eyes.

Before Fujima could say anything else, Aoi-chan was lifted from his arms by, surprise surprise, Rukawa, who then settled her on his lap, just like she wanted.

"Wai!!! Arigatou, niichan!" Aoi-chan squealed happily.

"I'm so sorry, Rukawa," Fujima apologised again. "But thanks."

Rukawa just nodded his head.

Miyagi, who was sitting beside Sakuragi, noticed that he was unusually quiet. "Oi, Hanamichi, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, of course I'm alright, Ryochin. I'm the Tensai. Nyahahahaha!" He laughed his trademark Tensai laugh, but somehow, it lacked the enthusiasm which usually came with it. It didn't escape from Ayako's keen sense of notice.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, Ayako-san. I'm sure." To avoid being questioned any further, Sakuragi turned to the little girl now sitting on Rukawa's lap, who was sitting beside him, by the way. "Aoi-chan, that's your name isn't it, chibi onna?"

"Hai!" Her hands reached up to play with Sakuragi's hair. "Niichan, your hair is pink in colour."

"No, Aoi-chan, it's red, not pink."

"Why is it pink?"

"It's red, Aoi-chan, not pink. Anyway, it's red because only Tensais have red hair."

"Tentai?"

"No, it's Tensai."

"Tenhai?"

"Tensai, Aoi-chan. Ten-sai."

"Tenbai!"

"Never mind, Aoi-chan. Just remember, I'm Tensai-niichan. Got it?"

"Hai! Tendai-niichan!"

"No, it's Tensai-niichan!"

"Tennai-niichan!"

"No! It's-"

"Do'aho, it's too long for her to remember," Rukawa cut him off.

"Shut up kitsune!" He was about to launch into a tirade of curses when he stopped short and turned to Aoi-chan. "Aoi-chan, do you want to know what this niichan's name is?"

"I know!"

"Eh? You do?"

"Hai!" She pointed at Rukawa, "He's kitsune-niichan, and you're do'aho-niichan."

Everybody within earshot doubled over with laughter, while Ayako whacked the two boys on their heads. "Now look what you've done. You have corrupted the mind of an innocent girl. She's only..." She looked at Fujima.

"3 years old."

"She's only 3 years old!" she continued, whacking them again.

"Ne, neechan, why are you so fierce?" Aoi-chan asked, as innocent as Ayako had labelled her.

Ayako stopped in the middle of a whack and blinked at her. "Eh?"

"That's because she's the Gori lady," Sakuragi whispered into Aoi-chan's ear.

"Gori lady!" Aoi-chan giggled.

Ayako sat down, blushing furiously, while in her mind, she was plotting on how to make Sakuragi die a slow and painful death.

"Alright, that's enough," Fujima interrupted. "Aoi-chan, this one over here is Hana-niichan, while the one whose lap you're sitting on is Kae-niichan. Can you remember that?"

"Hai. Hana-niichan and Kae-niichan," Aoi-chan repeated effortlessly.

"Good. The others... they'll tell you later what their names are. Now, listen. Otouchan has to go and play basketball now. I want you to be a good girl and sit here quietly, alright? No running around, and no throwing tantrums. Got that?"

"Hai!"

Fujima smiled and ruffled her hair. "Good. I'll come and pick you up later, ok?" After thanking Rukawa again, he waved at Aoi-chan and ran off, appearing on the court a while later.

The game started soon after, and as predicted, it was a very exciting game, what with some of the best players in Kanagawa gathered together to play against Tokyo University's basketball team, known as one of the best in the country. Now and then, Aoi-chan would cheer for her otouchan, while Shohoku cheered for their own seniors as well as the Fukasawa University team.

One and a half hours later, the game ended with Tokyo University winning by 4 points.

---

"Ok, Aoi-chan, say goodbye to your Hana-niichan and Kae-niichan and the other oniichans and oneechans," Fujima instructed. They were all standing outside the gate of Fukasawa University, where Fujima's car was already waiting.

"Sayonara, Hana-niichan, Kae-niichan, niichans and neechans!" Aoi-chan waved her chubby little hands as she sat on top of Fujima's shoulders.

"Sayonara, Aoi-chan!"

"Sayonara!"

"Otouchan, quick quick! Let's go home," Aoi-chan urged, pulling at Fujima's hair.

"What's the big hurry, Aoi-chan?" asked Ayako, curious.

Before the girl could answer, Fujima cut in. "Alright, Aoi-chan, in the car you go." He put Aoi-chan down and opened the car door, putting her inside and closing the door before turning around to face them again. He gave them a tight smile. "I guess we'd better go. See you guys around, and Rukawa, thank you for taking care of Aoi-chan just now. I really appreciate it."

Rukawa shrugged, and Fujima got into the car, driving off immediately. The Shohoku team then made their way to the train station.

"She's very cute, isn't she? In fact, she looks just like Fujima-san," Ichiro commented.

"Yeah. I mean, what with her blue eyes and all, although her hair is a darker shade of brown, almost black actually. If I didn't know better, I would've thought that he really is her father," said Miyagi. "Anyway, let's all go back. Remember, practice tomorrow at the same time. Be there, or be prepared to face my wrath. The Inter-High Preliminaries is starting soon. This year, I want our team to be the number one team in Kanagawa, you hear me?"

"Aa!" everybody chorused, before dispersing, each going on their way.

"Hanamichi, are you going home?" Miyagi asked the redhead.

"Yeah. Ja!" Without a backward glance, he left the place, going in the opposite direction of where they came from.

_I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it for myself. Man, they look so much alike. Too bad Hana-chan isn't here to see it for herself. _

Too lost in his own thoughts, he didn't realise that he was being followed, until a familiar voice snapped him out of it.

"Do'aho."

Sakuragi turned around and found himself face-to-face with Rukawa. He narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, kitsune?

"We need to talk."

"I have nothing to talk to you about, kitsune. Now leave me alone. In case you didn't notice, I was in the middle of thinking about something." He turned to leave.

"I didn't know that you think," Rukawa deadpanned.

Sakuragi turned to face Rukawa again. "Teme! Are you looking for a fight, Rukawa?!"

"I said, we need to talk."

"And I said I have nothing to talk to you about!" Sakuragi said furiously. Again, he turned to leave, but stopped when he heard what Rukawa said next.

"It's about the girl."

Slowly, Sakuragi turned around and looked at Rukawa. "Aoi-chan?"

---

Half an hour later, the two boys were seated in a corner of a nearby coffee shop.

"You know what, kitsune, you think too much. Thank Kami-sama I'm not like you. My brain wouldn't have lasted a minute from all that thinking you're doing," said Sakuragi.

"I never knew you had a brain, do'aho."

"You'd better not push it, kitsune. And, you'd better stop calling me that too," Sakuragi growled threateningly.

"You call me kitsune," Rukawa pointed out nonchalantly.

"What the- che! Whatever," Sakuragi grunted. "Anyway, it's not what you think, I'm sure of it. Therefore, the matter ends here. Do you understand me, Ru-ka-wa?"

Rukawa refrained from rolling his eyes. "Whatever, Sa-ku-ra-gi."

"Good. That's settled then," said Sakuragi. He paused, before continuing, "There's nothing to worry about. There's nothing to even _think _about in the first place."

_For once, I hope that you're right, do'aho. _

Rukawa nodded.

---

Later that night...

Fujima looked at the clock on the wall. It showed the time as 11.30 pm.

_Better go get some sleep already. _Turning off the stereo, he walked out of the music room and up the stairs to the first floor, where his room was situated. Upon reaching his room however, he stopped and turned around, stopping in front of another room, which was next to his. He opened the door a creak, making sure that he wouldn't wake the people sleeping inside.

"Otouchan?"

Fujima watched in surprise as Aoi-chan sat up in bed and looked at him. "Otouchan, I can't sleep."

As quietly as possible, Fujima tiptoed into the room, which was illuminated by only a night light, and knelt down beside the bed. "Do you want a glass of hot milk then, Aoi-chan?" he asked softly.

The little girl shook her head. "No. I want to sleep with otouchan."

"Well, alright then." Fujima reached out to carry her, but she shook her head again.

"I want to sleep with okaachan," she said.

"Well, ok. Then go to sleep." He stood up, and was going to walk to the door, but was stopped by Aoi-chan.

"I want to sleep with otouchan."

Fujima looked at Aoi-chan, a little exasperated. He knelt down again. "Who do you want to sleep with, Aoi-chan? Think properly."

A few blinks later, Aoi-chan made up her mind. "I want to sleep with otouchan and okaachan."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Aoi-chan. You have to choose," said Fujima, shaking his head.

"But I want to sleep with otouchan and okaachan," Aoi-chan whined, a little louder this time.

"Shhh! Not so loud, Aoi-chan. You'll wake your okaachan." He glanced at the sleeping figure beside Aoi-chan. "She's very tired, Aoi-chan. If you don't go to sleep, she'll be very sad. Now be a good girl and go to sleep, ok?"

"I want to sleep with otouchan and okaachan," Aoi-chan insisted stubbornly.

Before Fujima could say anything further, he was cut off by a sleepy voice coming from the bed itself.

"Kenji, just climb into bed and go to sleep, will you?"

Fujima gaped at the now half-asleep female lying on the bed. "Are you serious? I mean, you can't possib-"

"Please, Kenji. It's not as if we're sleeping together. I mean, we are, but," she stopped to yawn, before continuing, "Aoi-chan will be sleeping in between. I don't see anything wrong with that," she said.

"You know, I suggest that you go wash your face and think about what you've just said," Fujima said.

"Tell me," she yawned again, "Kenji. Are you planning to do anything to me when I'm asleep?"

"What the-? Of... of course not!" Fujima sputtered out.

"Then? What are you so afraid of? You scared that I would jump on you in the middle of the night?"

"No!"

"Then cut the crap and come to bed. You said so yourself that I'm very tired, no thanks to you, that is. I want to sleep, and I won't be able to if Aoi-chan doesn't. Please..." She gave a long tired yawn, as if to emphasise her point.

Fujima was rendered speechless for a moment, and, young as Aoi-chan may be, she can recognise an opportunity when she sees one. Turning on her babyish charm in full blast, she tugged at Fujima's hand, pleading incessantly, "Please, otouchan... please... please..."

Fujima sighed heavily. _What am I getting myself into? _"Alright."

He climbed onto the bed and settled down beside Aoi-chan, covering them both with the blanket.

"Otouchan, I want to hear a song."

Fujima groaned inwardly. "Aoi-chan, go to sleep now. If not, otouchan will not sleep with you."

He instantly regretted what he had just said, because Aoi-chan started crying her lungs out, just like that.

"Kenji, just sing her a song."

"But..."

"Please sing, or I won't be able to sleep."

Meanwhile, Aoi-chan continued crying.

"Alright, alright!" Fujima said, giving in to the two members of the female species in the room with him.

Aoi-chan stopped crying immediately, as if a plug had been pulled. Fujima could only sweatdrop.

He took a deep breath, and began to sing. "If you will not go to bed, please shoot otouchan in his head." (A/n: Note that these two phrases are sung with the tune of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.)

He held his breath, as Aoi-chan stared at him with those big blue eyes of hers.

"Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Kenji, sing her favourite song. You know that one don't you?"

Fujima sighed again. "Fine..." He cleared his throat, and began to sing once more.

_Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?  
Just like me, they long to be close to you.  
Why do stars fall down from the sky every time you walk by?  
Just like me, they long to be close to you._

_On the day that you were born the angels got together,  
And decided to create a dream come true.  
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold,  
And starlight in your eyes of blue._

_That is why all the boys in town follow you all around.  
Just like me, they long to be close to you._

Fujima stopped singing when he saw Aoi-chan's eyes shut tight. He lifted his head a little to look at the other sleeping figure, whose hand was placed over Aoi-chan's small body. A small smile graced his lips, as he placed his hand on hers.

_Oyasumi nasai... minna..._

---

Author's notes: Thank you to Jen for reviewing. Your question will be answered in the upcoming chapters. But, I believe some of you out there, especially Jen, may have already realised where this story is going. Anyway, the song 'Close To You' is originally sung by The Carpenters. And the twisted version of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', I got the idea from the TV sitcom 'Yes Dear'. What else? I guess that's all. Thanks for reading!


	6. Prelude to the revelation I

**Chapter 6: Prelude to the revelation I **

The Inter High Preliminaries had begun, and Shohoku was seeded in the B block, while Kainan was in the A block and Ryonan in the C block. Because these three teams were in the final four the previous year, they didn't have to play during the preliminary rounds and only had to wait until the semi-finals.

And, just like the previous year, Shoyo was in the same block as Shohoku, and being Shoyo, they easily breezed through game after game to reach the semi-finals, where they will play against Shohoku.

---

The day of the game between Shohoku and Shoyo arrived, and both teams gathered in their respective locker rooms before going out onto the court.

"Alright, the starting players are Miyagi-sempai, oniichan, Kaede, Mikage-kun and Tendo-kun," Hanayuki announced. "Play hard, and remember, you're strong." Beside her, Anzai-sensei nodded his head.

"Hai!" they chorused.

Hanayuki smiled. "I still remember that day last year when we were also playing against Shoyo. Back then, we were the underdogs, but we beat the odds and got into the final four. This year, we're no longer the underdogs, but Shoyo is no underdog either. You must not underestimate them, you understand?"

"Hai!"

---

In Shoyo's locker room...

"Ne, otouchan, are you going to play too?" asked Aoi-chan, looking up at Fujima.

Fujima smiled at her. "No, Aoi-chan. Otouchan is not playing. These oniichans are otouchan's friends. Otouchan came here to cheer for them."

"Ooooh, just like how Aoi-chan cheers for otouchan!" said Aoi-chan, clapping her hands excitedly.

Hanagata laughed at her antics. "That's right, Aoi-chan. Since your otouchan here is cheering for them, won't you cheer for them too?"

"Hai! Aoi-chan will cheer for all the oniichans!" She began to run all over the room, going from one player to another to 'cheer' them on.

As he watched her, Hanagata spoke. "I can't believe you didn't tell me about her earlier. I mean, I'm your friend, your team-mate, your roommate, all in one. I know all about your nightly house visits; what I didn't know was that you were actually visiting a 3-year-old kid who calls you her otousan and staying at your house."

"Well, now you know. Never mind that. Anyway, you do know that I'm not staying to watch the game, don't you?" asked Fujima.

"Yeah, although I don't understand why," Hanagata replied.

"I promised Aoi-chan I'm taking her to the playground," said Fujima.

"You can take her there later, can't you? After all, I think she wouldn't mind watching the game herself. Look at her. Just running around and cheering for the players, she's already this excited." Hanagata gestured to the girl, who was jumping up and down, shouting 'cheers' like any cheerleader would.

"Maybe some other time." Fujima glanced at his watch. "I think it's time they enter the court." He clapped his hands together, and said, "Alright guys. It is time. Play hard, and do your best. Good luck."

"Hai. Arigatou gozaimasu, Fujima-sempai!"

Going down on one knee, he called to Aoi-chan. "Come on, Aoi-chan. Let's go to the playground."

Squealing happily, she ran into his arms. With a last nod at his friend, he stood up and exited the room.

Just as the team was about to exit the room themselves, someone cried out, "Oh no! Aoi-chan left her bracelet here." He held up a blue-and-white-coloured bead bracelet.

Hanagata walked to the door and looked out, before saying, "Well, they're nowhere to be seen, so I guess you might as well give it to me. I'll pass it to him tonight."

"Maybe he'll come back for it later," someone suggested.

Hanagata shrugged. "Maybe. In any case, just let me keep it."

---

Half an hour later...

The first-half had ended with the score of 34-33, Shohoku leading by 1 point. It hadn't been an easy game, but it hadn't been a hard game either. Shoyo still had the height advantage, and some of their starting players were pretty good, but their might had significantly dropped with the absence of Fujima and Hanagata.

Still, Shohoku had to make an effort to keep a close game, and so far, they had been successful. Miyagi was now considered _the _point guard, while Sakuragi and Rukawa did their own thing. They weren't working together, at least not yet.

Another half an hour later, the second-half began. The tip-off was won by Sakuragi, and Miyagi caught the ball, going for a fast break immediately. Guarded tightly by Ito, Shoyo's new captain and point guard, Miyagi passed the ball to Tendo, who was near the basket.

Tendo passed the ball to Rukawa when his opponent jumped up to stop him, thinking that he was going to dunk. Rukawa jumped up and shot, scoring Shohoku's first two points of the second-half.

On the bench...

Ayako was beginning to feel excited. "I think we can win this, don't you, Yuki-chan?"

Hanayuki nodded her head. "As long as they keep on performing like this, I think we will."

---

At the playground...

"Wai!!!" Aoi-chan squealed in delight, as Fujima pushed the swing a little harder, prompting it to go higher. "Faster, otouchan! Faster!"

Fujima laughed. "Hold on tight then." He gave the swing another push, careful not to push too hard, so as to ensure Aoi-chan's safety.

_Her mother's going to kill me if anything happens to precious Aoi-chan. Not that I'll forgive myself either. _

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Aoi-chan scream, and looked up to see her struggling and shifting on the swing. And then, to his immense horror, she slipped off the seat and fell to ground with a thud.

"AOI-CHAN!!!"

---

At the stadium...

The game finally ended with the score of 66-64, with Shohoku as the winner, and as the players filed out of the court and made their way to the locker room, they chattered happily about their victory.

"Nyahahahaha! Hana-chan, now that we have removed the obstacle in front of us, there won't be any more problems," said Sakuragi, laughing loudly.

"Oniichan, have you forgotten about Kainan and Ryonan?" asked Hanayuki, smiling.

"Of course not, Hana-chan! This Tensai has not forgotten about them. In fact, this Tensai is going to beat them and go to the National Championships as the number one team in Kanagawa," Sakuragi declared.

"I'm sure you will-" Hanayuki was cut off when her hand phone began to ring. Reaching into her coat pocket, she took out the ringing device.

"Moshi moshi," she said into the phone. For a moment, she kept quiet as she listened to the caller. The others watched as the colour slowly drained from her face and her eyes widened visibly.

"I'll be right there," said Hanayuki and promptly stuffed the phone back into her pocket. Without another word, she started running towards the entrance.

"Hana-chan, where are you going?" Sakuragi called after her.

"I have to go somewhere. You guys go on without me," Hanayuki called back, not stopping. "Otousan, I'll call you later, alright?"

Ignoring Sakuragi's continuous shouts, she continued running until she disappeared completely from their sight.

"What was that all about?" Miyagi wondered aloud.

Ayako shrugged. "Beats me. Anyway, everyone get moving now. Hurry up!"

As the whole team began to shuffle forward, Rukawa pulled Sakuragi aside.

"Do'aho, I'm going to follow her. Are you coming along?"

"You mean Hana-chan?"

"Yes, do'aho. Are you coming along?"

"Man, kitsune, I didn't know you were a stalker."

"Urusai! I'm asking you for the last time. Are you coming along or not?" asked Rukawa, irritated.

Sakuragi regarded Rukawa for a while, before letting out a deep sigh and said, "Hai, hai. I'm coming. Only because I want to make sure you don't go get yourself into trouble."

"Do'aho, I don't need you to keep me out of trouble. You can't even keep yourself out of trouble," said Rukawa.

"Oh yeah? Then why did you ask me whether I want to come along with you huh?" asked Sakuragi.

"Because I want to prove to you that I was right about what I've told you the other day, that's why. Now stop making so much noise and come quietly."

Sakuragi shook his head. "I never thought that I would live the day to hear you talk so much." He eyed Rukawa seriously, probably for the very first time since he knew the guy. "You must really like Hana-chan very much."

Rukawa snorted, but didn't say anything.

"Yosh! Let's go then," said Sakuragi. "We have a girl to catch."

---

Later...

"Stop pushing, do'aho," Rukawa hissed at Sakuragi.

"Stop complaining, kitsune, and keep watching," Sakuragi shot back.

They watched as Hanayuki practically burst through the doors of the hospital.

"Why is she in such a hurry?" asked Sakuragi to no one in particular.

_That's what I want to know too, do'aho, _thought Rukawa.

They waited for another couple of seconds before rushing in after Hanayuki. They were just in time to see Hanayuki standing behind the closing doors of the lift. Fortunately, she didn't see them.

"Come on, kitsune, let's take the stairs," said Sakuragi.

"Do'aho, we don't know which floor she is headed to."

"That's why we're taking the stairs. That way, we can check each and every floor to see if it's the one."

"Do'aho, we just have to see which floor this lift stops at and we'll know which floor she's at."

"For your information, kitsune, Hana-chan's not the only one in the lift. How sure are you that everyone in the lift is headed to the same floor?"

For the first time in his whole entire life, Rukawa was rendered speechless. Maintaining a straight expressionless face, he said, "Whatever," and made his way to the stairway, while Sakuragi followed behind him, smirking.

Lucky for them, there were only 5 floors in the hospital, and they managed to resume putting a tail on Hanayuki when they caught sight of her running down a hallway on the 3rd floor.

"Look, she's going into that room," said Sakuragi, as Hanayuki opened the door and went in, closing the door behind her.

Both Rukawa and Sakuragi came out of their hiding place and walked up to the room as if they were strolling in a park. Stopping right in front of the door, they made sure that the coast was clear before leaning their ears as close as possible to the door, trying to make out what was going on inside the room.

---

Inside the room...

Hanayuki gently stroked the face lying on the bed, careful not to brush against the bandaged forehead.

"I'm sorry," came a voice from behind her.

Hanayuki shook her head. "It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault."

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

There was a scraping sound of the chair being pushed back, as Hanayuki stood up and turned around to face the other. "She's going to be fine. I know it. So don't worry, alright?" Hanayuki extended her hand. "Kenji?"

Looking up at her and smiling a little, Fujima stepped forward, took her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"Alright, Yuki."

Hanayuki smiled at him and went back to sit beside the bed. As she held Aoi-chan's little hand in hers, she noticed something. "Kenji, where's Aoi-chan's bracelet?"

Fujima approached her and looked at Aoi-chan's bare wrist. "I don't know. I didn't realise it wasn't there. It must have dropped off somewhere." He looked at Hanayuki. "Where's yours?"

Hanayuki reached into her coat and pulled out a bracelet, similar to the one Aoi-chan had lost, except that the beads were white in colour and only white. "I can't really wear it to school, what with the rules and all. But you can, since you're already in university."

Fujima held up his right hand in response. On the wrist was a blue-coloured version of Hanayuki's bracelet.

"Well, I guess we'll have to return to the shop and get a new one for Aoi-chan," he said. "I wonder if the lady would be willing to let us buy just one, for Aoi-chan. I mean, the last time we were there, she made us buy the whole set of three, one for each of us."

Hanayuki smirked slightly. "Yeah, I remember. I also remember how particularly fond of you she had been."

"On second thought, maybe we shouldn't go back. Perhaps we should first look around the house, in case that's where she dropped it."

"You took her to the stadium, didn't you? Maybe that's where it is," Hanayuki suggested.

"Oh yeah! I'll go check then," said Fujima.

"You should," said Hanayuki, looking at Aoi-chan. "She loves that bracelet."

"I know. I'll turn the place upside-down if I have to."

A moment of silence passed between them, before Hanayuki spoke. "Ne, Kenji?"

"Hai?"

"She's going to be fine, right?"

Fujima took a deep breath, trying to quell the overwhelming feeling of guilt growing inside of him. Forcing himself to smile, he placed a hand on her shoulder and said in the most assuring tone he could muster, "Right. She'll be fine. I promise."

---

Meanwhile, outside the room...

Two nurses walked past the room without so much of a glance at the two boys who were standing outside the room, leaning against the wall and looking at everywhere else except the two nurses, pretending as if the last thing they would do in the world was to eavesdrop on other people's conversation.

However, as soon as the nurses were out of sight, Sakuragi sprang into action, once again pressing his ear to the door.

"Do'aho, let's go," said Rukawa, as he headed down the hallway to the lifts.

"Eh?" Sakuragi straightened up from his slightly bent position. "Why?"

"I think we've heard enough. Don't you?"

"Well..."

"Let's go. We need to talk."

Sakuragi took one last look at the door, before going after Rukawa, who was already getting into the lift.

---

Outside the hospital, in a nearby coffee shop...

"Now what, kitsune?" asked Sakuragi.

Rukawa just kept quiet.

"Oi, Rukawa, I'm asking you a question!"

"Do you think I would be sitting here with you if I knew what to do, do'aho?"

"Che! As if the Tensai would want to sit here with you if he had any other choice," Sakuragi shot back. He paused, and continued a little softly, "I never expected this to happen, you know."

"I told you, do'aho, but you wouldn't listen," Rukawa reminded him, his face expressionless.

"How was I supposed to know that this would happen? It didn't make any sense back then when you told me. Besides, you weren't too sure about it yourself," Sakuragi countered.

For a while, none of them said anything. Then, Sakuragi broke the silence.

"How about we put it out in the open and ask her?" he suggested.

"Do'aho, she's not going to tell, even if we point a gun to her head," said Rukawa.

"Ok. Then we point the gun at me. Or better still, you. Or ojisan. Or anyone else, except for her. She wouldn't want anybody to get hurt because of her."

Rukawa looked at Sakuragi expressionlessly. "I knew it. You really don't have a brain."

Sakuragi snorted. "Well, as if you have one yourself, kitsune. Like you said, if you had one you wouldn't be sitting here with me."

"Do'aho."

"How about asking ojisan then?" said Sakuragi.

Rukawa shook his head. "I don't think he'll tell either."

"Hmm, true," said Sakuragi, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "For all you know, he'll start hohoho-ing non-stop, and that will be the only thing we can ever get out of him."

Once again, none of them said anything for a while.

"Aha! I know! If we can't ask her, or ojisan, then we ask him. If he doesn't talk, we'll beat the crap out of him. There's no way he would be able to fight back against this Tensai."

Rukawa sighed. "Do'aho, she'll have our heads faster than you can say 'die' if we ever touch him."

Sakuragi slammed his fist on the table, spilling coffee all over. "We can't do this, we can't do that. She won't tell us this, he won't tell us that. What the hell are we supposed to do then?!"

Every other customer in the shop turned their attention to the two boys.

"Do'aho, the next time you do that, I'm going to throw my coffee at you," Rukawa hissed.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try," Sakuragi challenged.

Wordlessly, Rukawa picked up his cup of coffee and threw its contents at Sakuragi. Fortunately, Sakuragi was able to avoid it.

"Teme!" Sakuragi lunged at Rukawa in a rage, and soon, the whole coffee shop was thrown into chaos as tables and chairs were overturned and plates and cups were broken, while the owner of the shop could only stand aside and watch in dismay and horror.

_Why, Kami-sama, why?! What did I do to deserve this?_

---

Back in the hospital...

Hanagata knocked on the door softly, and entered when he heard Fujima's voice, asking him to come in.

"Hey, Fujima, I've got the bracelet right here..." he trailed off when Fujima gave him a warning look with a finger to his lips.

"Not so loud, Hanagata, Yuki's asleep," said Fujima in a whisper, at the same time pointing to Hanayuki, who was curled up beside him on the sofa and sleeping, her head on his lap. (A/n: It's a single room, with a bed, a sofa, a dressing table and a television set.)

Hanagata furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Hanayuki-san? What is she doing here?"

"Shh! I said not so loud, Hanagata," Fujima whispered again.

Hanagata signalled an apology, before reaching into his pocket to retrieve Aoi-chan's bracelet. "Here, Aoi-chan's bracelet."

"Thanks for coming all the way, Hanagata," Fujima thanked him.

"Don't mention it. I was going to find you anyway." He paused, before continuing, "So-"

He broke off when Aoi-chan began to stir on the bed.

As if on cue, Hanayuki opened her eyes and sat up quickly. Her eyes widened visibly when she saw Hanagata.

"Um, Hanagata, why don't you go back to the hostel first? I'll give you a call later," said Fujima.

"Sure," Hanagata answered good-naturedly, curious as he may be.

"Thanks a lot."

"It's ok. Really. Take care. And it's nice seeing you again, Hanayuki-san," said Hanagata.

Hanayuki gave him a small smile. "Hai. Likewise, Hanagata-san."

Hanagata smiled back and walked out of the room. As he was closing the door, he distinctly saw Hanayuki rushing to the side of the bed from the corner of his eye. And, he was sure that he had heard Aoi-chan call out to her, but he couldn't really tell what it was that Aoi-chan had called her.

_I could've sworn that I heard Aoi-chan call her that..._

---

Author's notes: Hmm... I've changed the title so many times I lost count. Anyway, thank you to everyone who read. Thank you to Jen and Kiku Rukawa for reviewing. The answers to your questions will be answered probably 2 or 3 chapters from now. Rukawa may seem a little OOC here, but when I re-watched some of the episodes of the anime, I realised that it is not that he doesn't talk at all. It's just that he doesn't talk much and usually talks in short phrases. And when he does talk in long sentences, it's almost always only with Sakuragi. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and bear with his OOC-ness.


	7. Prelude to the revelation II

**Chapter 7: Prelude to the revelation II **

Shohoku went on to win the next two games of the finals against Takezato and Kainan. Takezato had been fairly easy, but Kainan was a different story altogether.

Although Maki was no longer in the team, Kainan was still as strong as ever. Jin, the new captain of Kainan, had improved a lot, as had Kiyota. Together, they made Kainan a fearsome package.

It was only fair to fight fire with fire, and up against Kainan's incredible duo was Shohoku's very own incredible duo. Fortunately, Rukawa and Sakuragi realised from the very beginning that they wouldn't be able to beat Kainan if they didn't work together, so they did, right after the game began.

And what a team they make. They were almost unbeatable, if not invincible. Throughout the game, the stadium was filled with cheers for the two boys. Whenever Rukawa got the ball, the audience would cheer for him to pass it to Sakuragi. Whenever Sakuragi got the ball, the audience would root for him to pass to Rukawa.

Of course, in between, there were minor slip-ups, such as the time when Sakuragi asked for the ball but Rukawa scored by himself, and the time when Rukawa passed the ball to Sakuragi and asked for the ball to be passed back to him but was ignored.

Looking at the bright side, however, these minor slip-ups served as major confusion devices against Kainan. By not passing to each other once in a while, they confused their opponents enough to take advantage of the situation. Kainan couldn't be sure anymore whether Sakuragi was going to pass to Rukawa, or Rukawa was going to attack by himself.

Anyway, with 2 wins under their belt, they only have Ryonan left to beat, if they were to be crowned Kanagawa's number one team. And they were determined to take the title at all costs.

---

On the day of the final game against Ryonan...

"Hisashi-niichan, you have to make sure that you record every single thing, you understand? I don't want to watch it later only to find out that some parts are missing," Hanayuki instructed Mitsui, as she handed him the video camera.

Mitsui waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I will, don't worry. Kogure here will help me, right Kogure?"

"Of course. Don't you worry about a thing, Yuki-chan," Kogure assured her.

"Thank you, Kogure-sempai. I mean, I didn't see you for so long, and when I finally do, I ask for a favour," said Hanayuki.

"It's ok, Yuki-chan. I used to be a member of the basketball team myself. I would be more than happy to help you guys out. Just make sure you guys win this game," Kogure said.

"That's right," Akagi added. "You guys beat Kainan. You're not going to lose to Ryonan."

Hanayuki nodded her head. "Hai. We won't. Oniichan and Kaede won't let them win. Anyway, I had better go back down now." She crossed her fingers on both hands and held them up in front of the ex-members of Shohoku's basketball team. "Wish us luck."

"Good luck!" said Akagi.

"Ganbatte!" said Kogure.

Mitsui just winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

Hanayuki smiled and turned to walk down to the court.

---

About 45 minutes later...

There were 10 minutes left in the game, with the first-half finished and done with, and the second-half halfway through.

"Pass!" Sakuragi shouted. Tendo, who was having the ball, did a fake and passed the ball to his senior.

"Yosh!" Sakuragi caught the ball and charged for a fast break. Behind him, Miyagi and Rukawa ran to catch up.

"Hanamichi, don't screw up!" Miyagi shouted to the redhead.

"Nani??! The Tensai does not screw up! Watch this!" He jumped up to dunk the ball. "Slam dunk!!!"

Unfortunately, Sendoh jumped up at the same time and blocked him, slapping the ball out of his hands. The ball was about to go out of bounds when Sakuragi jumped after it and whacked the ball back into the court, into the hands of a waiting Rukawa.

"Rukawa, you'd better get the ball in!" Sakuragi yelled.

_Do'aho... _Rukawa jumped up to shoot, but once again, Sendoh blocked the shot. This time, the ball went into the hands of Sakuragi, who had run back onto the court. Too fast for Sendoh to handle alone, Sakuragi made his shot, and the ball went in.

The score on the scoreboard changed from 55-54 to 57-54, Shohoku still in the lead.

The Shohoku bench erupted into cheers, along with the audience.

"Shohoku!"

"Rukawa!"

"Sakuragi!"

"Nyahahahaha! Tensai Sakuragi!" Sakuragi laughed, as he ran back to defend.

Sendoh heaved a big sigh and smiled a little. _Not bad... not bad at all. _He looked at the Shohoku bench, where Hanayuki was discussing something with Anzai-sensei. _I see you have gotten them to work together, Hana. _

"Sendoh!"

Sendoh caught the ball and dribbled it on the floor, as he advanced slowly to Shohoku's side of the court. _But I'm not going to lose either!_

Quick as lightning, he drove past Rukawa, who was guarding him and jumped up to shoot. Sakuragi and Tendo both jumped up in front of him, only to have Sendoh back-pass the ball to Koshino, who then passed the ball to Fukuda, who jumped up and dunked.

Sendoh exchanged a high-five with Koshino, smiling. _See that, Hana. I'm not going to make it easy for you or the guys._

Hanayuki looked at the scoreboard. Ryonan was leading by 2 points, and there were only 2 minutes left to play.

"Come on guys! Play harder!" Ayako cheered.

Just then, Uekusa managed to steal the ball from Miyagi. "Fast break!" he shouted to his team-mates.

Sakuragi and Rukawa were instantly on the run, and they were not called the two fastest people in Shohoku for nothing, as they arrived to defend their basket in no time at all. The ball was passed to Koshino, who was quickly marked by Mikage.

Due to Mikage's excellent defense, Koshino had no chance to pass the ball out. He was almost called for a 30-second violation when Sendoh appeared near him and Koshino was able to pass him the ball.

Rukawa was immediately on to him, and like so many times before this, they went on a brief one-on-one, before Sendoh, again like so many times before this, succeeded in breaking through Rukawa's defense and attacked.

However, on hand to assist Rukawa was Sakuragi, who swatted the ball away 'Gori style', as he would call it. Mikage, who caught the ball, was right before the three-pointer line when he jumped up, releasing the ball with much ease, and with that same amount of ease, the ball went into the basket beautifully.

The tables were turned, and Shohoku was once again in the lead, with the score of 88-87. With one minute left on the clock, the two teams battled it out to see who was going to take the title of Kanagawa's number one.

Ryonan's ball, Fukuda passed to Sendoh, but the ball was intercepted by Tendo, who passed the ball to Miyagi. At once, all 5 players of the Shohoku team went for a fast break, running onto Ryonan's side of the court.

Uekusa tried to steal the ball from Miyagi, but the latter was much quicker and went around him, passing the ball to Sakuragi in the process.

With a roar, Sakuragi charged towards the net, ignoring Rukawa's signal for the ball.

"Do'aho, pass me the ball."

"Forget it, kitsune. I'm not going to pass to you this time."

Stopping suddenly, he prepared to shoot, but Fukuda was already in front of him, blocking his view of the basket.

"Che! Fukuda, do you think you can stop me so easily?" asked Sakuragi. With a flick of the wrist, he threw the ball towards the basket, even as Fukuda bumped into him to stop him.

"Rebound!" Sendoh shouted. He watched in mixed horror and amazement as the ball went into the basket without so much as touching the rim. In addition to the 2 points scored, Shohoku was also awarded a free throw.

Having practised the free throw ever since he first made one, Sakuragi put the ball in easily, Sakuragi way of course. The score was 91-87, with 20 seconds left to play.

Less than 10 seconds later, Sendoh retaliated by sinking in a three-pointer, taking Rukawa by surprise, and cutting the lead to 1 point.

10 seconds left, Shohoku was having possession of the ball. Doing a fake, Mikage got past Koshino and bounce-passed to Miyagi, but Koshino managed to recover quickly and tapped the ball out of the way, tripping and falling over in the process.

The ball went to Uekusa, who quickly passed it to Sendoh, who was already running to attack. Stopping just before the three-pointer line, he jumped up to shoot, and found his line of sight blocked by Sakuragi's outstretched hand.

The ball flew towards the basket and bounced off the rim, with the rebound caught by Tendo. The buzzer sounded, the referee blew his whistle, and the game was over.

Shohoku emerged as the new number one team in Kanagawa, winning the ticket to the National Championships as well. Although Ryonan had lost, being the second best team, they also won the ticket to the National Championships, which was comfort enough for them.

Up in the audience stand, Mitsui and Kogure were so elated that they jumped up and down, shouting their heads off. Later, they went down to join the Shohoku team in their celebrations.

"Good job guys!" praised Mitsui. "You people did really well."

"Nyahahahaha! Of course, Mitchy. This is the Tensai you're talking about. Nyahahahaha!" bragged Sakuragi.

Kogure laughed. "Maa, I guess you're right, Sakuragi."

"By the way, Hisashi-niichan, Kogure-sempai, where is my video camera?" asked Hanayuki.

"Oh, Kogure's having it," said Mitsui.

"Anou, I'm not having it, Mitsui. Didn't you take it with you when we were coming down just now?" said Kogure.

They both looked at each other, before saying together, "Oh, no!" and rushed back upstairs to where they were sitting before in the audience stand. Minutes later, they returned.

Hanayuki looked at what remained of her video camera. She blinked a few times, as if to make sure that she hadn't seen wrongly.

"This is my video camera?" she asked, after a long moment of silence.

"Ehehehe..." Mitsui rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, while Kogure bowed repeatedly, apologising profusely.

Miyagi whistled. "My, my. Look at the state of that camera. It must have dropped to the ground when you guys were coming down from up there, and then people must have kicked it around like, real hard."

Hanayuki took a deep breath. "Well, I guess it's... fate. To tell you the truth, I just bought this, like, a week ago, and now it's... um, gone to camera heaven. I guess the camera god must love it much, much more than I do."

"Huh?" Mitsui and Kogure looked at her, bewildered.

"Never mind," said Hanayuki, shaking her head. "It's ok. As long as the tape is fine."

Mitsui shifted on his legs uncomfortably. "Er, that's another problem."

Hanayuki raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

"The tape was not in the video camera when we found it. It must have dropped out or something."

"Oh."

"Gomen nasai, Yuki-chan," Kogure apologised.

Hanayuki sighed and smiled. "It's ok. Forget about it."

"I'll pay for the damages," Mitsui volunteered.

"No, really, forget about it," Hanayuki insisted.

"Yeah, just forget about it. Come on, guys. Let's go celebrate somewhere," said Ayako.

"Aya-chan's right. Let's go celebrate!" Miyagi shouted.

"Yeah! I propose we head to the nearest karaoke bar later tonight," Mitsui suggested, who was only too glad to get over the whole thing.

"Yosh!" Everybody cried out in agreement.

"You guys love going to karaoke bars don't you?" Hanayuki remarked, laughing a little.

"Now, now, Yuki-chan. Don't you dare say that you don't like it as much as we do," said Ayako, wagging a finger at her.

"I'm not going to say anything, Ayako-san," Hanayuki replied, putting on her best innocent expression.

Just then, her hand phone began to ring.

"Moshi moshi," she answered. Her lips curved into a small smile. "Hai, hai. Wakatta yo. I'll be there soon. See you then."

Turning to the others, she said, "I've got to run now. I need to go somewhere. As for the plans for tonight, you guys decide among yourselves and then give me a call, ok?"

"Where are you going, Hana-chan?" asked Sakuragi.

"Somewhere, oniichan. Don't worry, I'll be fine, and I definitely won't miss tonight's plan, whatever it is."

"But-"

"I'll see you tonight, ne?" said Hanayuki, cutting him off.

When Sakuragi opened his mouth to speak, Hanayuki cut him off again. "Daijoubu yo, oniichan. Stop being so... motherly. I already have one at home, and that's quite enough for me."

Sakuragi ran out of things to say, and Hanayuki smiled and said, "I'll see you tonight, oniichan. Ja ne." She fluttered her fingers in a little wave before turning on her heels and half-ran towards the exit.

"Well, people, we'll definitely have the celebrations tonight. We meet in front of our school gate, and then from there, we'll decide the time and the place," said Miyagi. "Any objections?"

When nobody said anything, he continued, "Good. Now we all go home and take a nice hot bath. Ikuzo."

While everybody followed Miyagi's lead and headed towards the exit, Sakuragi and Rukawa fell behind.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, kitsune?" asked Sakuragi, careful not to let the others hear him or notice that he was talking to his mortal enemy. "About Hana-chan. And who the caller is."

"Let's go, do'aho," said Rukawa, without looking at the other person.

"Go where?"

"Where you think Yuki is going."

---

Sendoh was listening to Koshino's grumblings when he saw Hanayuki leave the stadium.

"Sendoh, are you listening to what I'm saying?" Koshino demanded.

"Hai! Of course I am. Go on, go on," said Sendoh, only to be distracted again when he saw Rukawa and Sakuragi leaving the stadium together, just seconds after Hanayuki.

_Rukawa and Sakuragi together? Hmm... that's weird... _

"Sendoh Akira! Are you listening to me?!"

"I'm sorry, Koshino, but I can't listen to you right now, so how about I give you a call later?" said Sendoh, giving Koshino the most apologetic smile he could muster. When he saw that Koshino was about to erupt like Krakatoa, he quickly left the scene and rushed to the exit, cringing as Koshino shouted after him.

---

"Yappari, it was him who called her," said Sakuragi. They had managed to catch up to Hanayuki, and had followed her all the way across town to her destination. Both of them were less than happy to see her entering Fujima's house, especially Rukawa. (A/n: Yappari means I knew it, or something along that line.)

"Kitsune, although I don't like you, but if you want to be with Hana-chan, I suggest you do something right now. From what I see, you're losing bad, and losing fast," said Sakuragi, glancing at Rukawa.

Rukawa just kept quiet.

"Oi, kitsune! Are you listening to me?"

Ignoring him, Rukawa left their hiding place and walked up to Fujima's house gate.

"Kitsune, what do you think you're doing?" Sakuragi asked, as he followed the other guy.

"I'm going in," came the reply.

Sakuragi pulled him back. "Are you serious?"

"Let go of me, do'aho."

"Come on, Rukawa. I know you're upset and all, but don't you think it's a little too hasty barging in like that. She'll know that we've been following her, and that won't make things any easier for you," reasoned Sakuragi.

Rukawa forcefully shoved Sakuragi aside and reached for the gate, but before he could even touch the handle, the gate swung open.

"Are? Oniichan, Kaede, what are you guys doing here?" asked Hanayuki, a surprised look on her face.

Not wanting her to know that they had been following her, Sakuragi hastily replied, "Iya! Nandemonai! We just happened to walk past this place. That's all."

"Oh, really? What a coinci-"

"What are you doing here, Hana-chan?" Sakuragi asked, cutting her off.

"Well, you see, I bumped into Fujima-san on the way, and we talked a little about our victory today. When I mentioned that we were going to celebrate by going to a karaoke bar, he told me that he had a karaoke lounge at home, and said that we could use it, free of charge. He then asked me to follow him here to have a look at it, so I did," said Hanayuki. "You really should see the place. It has everything a karaoke lounge should have. And, we don't have to pay a single yen."

"Uh-huh... is that so...?" said Sakuragi, stealing a glance at Rukawa, who was remaining silent.

"Yeah. That's why I've decided to have the party here, at Fujima's house. I'm now on my way home, and I'll be calling everybody to tell them about it. Of course, I wouldn't need to call you guys, since I'm already telling you about it now. Anyway, be here at 7. I'll see you two then. Got to get back home now. Ja!"

It took her less than 10 seconds to finish saying everything, one or two seconds to hail a cab, one second to get in the cab, and another for the cab to speed off, leaving behind a trail of smoke and dust. All in all, Sakuragi and Rukawa never had the chance to interrupt or stop her, and they stood there watching the taillights of the cab, covered from head to toe in dust.

---

Meanwhile, from behind a tree across the street...

Sendoh let out a deep sigh, as he wiped off the sweat from his forehead.

"Mission accomplished."

---

That night...

Ding dong!

"Coming!" Fujima called, as he made his way to the door. _Here goes... _

"Hey Fujima, it's about time you open the door."

Fujima smiled. "Hey there, Mitsui."

"Hello Fujima-san."

"Welcome, Ayako-san."

"Thank you for inviting us here, Fujima."

"Don't mention it, Kogure. Come on in."

"Yo Fujima-san!"

"Sendoh?"

One by one, said people came through the door, along with the rest of the Shohoku team, chattering and laughing loudly and happily.

"Man, Fujima is rich. I mean, look at this house!"

"Yeah! Look at the number of corridors they have. There's one on the left, one on the right, and one right in front of us."

"Whoa! Look at this antique vase. It looks so... antique!"

Hanayuki, who was the last to enter along with Rukawa and Sakuragi, smiled at the remarks, while Fujima chuckled.

"Hey, Fujima, where is Aoi-chan?" asked Sakuragi.

"Oh, she's not in. Midori-kaachan took Aoi-chan with her to visit her relatives. They won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

"All the better! After all, we're here to PARTY!!!" said Mitsui. "Look what I've brought." He put down the heavy-looking backpack he was carrying and opened it.

Hanayuki frowned. "Are those alcoholic drinks I see in the bag?"

"Aw, come on, Hana-chan. How can you celebrate something without alcohol?"

Hanayuki looked at him disbelievingly. "Hisashi-niichan, in case you hadn't realised, three-quarter of the people here are underage, including me."

"That's why we're here, Hana, so that we can do it without getting caught," Sendoh put in.

"How come you're here anyway, Sendoh?" Miyagi asked.

"Hana invited me to come along. I called her this afternoon and she told me that you guys were coming here to celebrate your victory. Although we were the losing side, I never say no to a party, so-"

"-he shamelessly decided to butt his head in and join us," Sakuragi finished for him.

"That's not a very nice thing to say, Hana-kun," said Sendoh, pouting a little.

"What did you call me, teme Smiley!!!"

Whack!

"Itai!!! Ayako-san, what do you think you're doing, bringing along the fan to a dinner party?!" said Sakuragi, clutching his head.

"To keep you under control, baka. Now get going, before I whack you again," she ordered.

"Maa, maa. Let me take you people to the dining room," Fujima intervened, laughing a little.

Muttering under his breath, Sakuragi followed the rest of the people to the dining room, with Ayako right behind him. She stopped beside Rukawa, who didn't show any signs of moving.

"What are you waiting for, Rukawa? Get going," she said to him. "Come on!"

Grudgingly, Rukawa complied with his sempai's orders, but not before he glared at Sendoh, who sweatdropped.

As soon as they were alone, he slipped an arm around Hanayuki's waist.

"So far so good, ne, Hana?" he said, in barely a whisper.

Hanayuki sighed. "Let's hope it lasts the night."

---

Author's notes: Okie... so I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter. It's ok, I guess, though I can't help but think that it's because it wasn't a good chapter that I didn't get any reviews. Anyway, thank you for reading.


	8. Prelude to the revelation III

**Chapter 8: Prelude to the revelation III **

The dinner party went on smoothly without a glitch, except for the unexpected food fight which took place after Sakuragi accidentally poured his drink on Rukawa, who then poured his own drink on the redhead. Enraged, Sakuragi emptied the contents of his plate onto Rukawa, who then grabbed a chicken bone and threw it smack into Sakuragi's face.

Totally unstoppable, Sakuragi grabbed a fistful of salad and aimed for Rukawa, but Rukawa managed to dodge it, and the salad hit Miyagi's face instead. When Sakuragi started laughing, Miyagi retaliated with a fistful of fried noodles.

Before long, everyone, especially those who were already half-drunk from the massive amount of alcohol that they had consumed, joined in the fight, and all kinds of food could be seen flying through the air and landing on somebody's head.

The fight lasted for about half an hour, before everyone became pooped and either lay exhausted on the dirty floor or sat on vegetable-covered chairs, trying to catch their breaths. The good thing was all of them had brought extra clothes (they probably knew that they would be getting themselves dirty somehow), and after cleaning up themselves and changing into clean clothes, most of the first and second-years, half of them drunk, were sent home by Fujima's family chauffeur.

In the end, only Mitsui, Kogure, Sendoh, Miyagi, Ayako, Haruko, Ichiro, Sakuragi, Rukawa and Hanayuki were left. They proceeded to the karaoke lounge.

"Hey guys, listen to this article that I'm reading at the moment. They have compiled a few lists of top 5 songs, each list for a special purpose," Ayako exclaimed, pointing to an article in the magazine that she was reading, curled up in one of the big and plush lounge sofas.

"Really?" Ichiro, who was sitting beside her, took a peek at the page. "Hmm... let's see. 'Top 5 Songs About Liking Someone Who Already Has A Boyfriend/Girlfriend', 'Top 5 Songs To Let Someone Know You like Them When You're Too Shy', 'Top 5 Songs About Breaking Up With Someone That You Really Don't Like'... sounds interesting. They even have this 'Top 5 Can't-Fail Songs To Play To Clinch The Deal And Make Mr/Miss Hesitant Drop The Resistance And Give You The Love You Need'."

"Nani??!"

Miyagi, Sakuragi and Sendoh scampered over to where Ayako was seated and made a grab for the magazine. Or, at least they tried to.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

"Keep your hands off the magazine," said Ayako, with one hand waving her trusty-fan and the other clutching at the magazine tightly.

"But, Ayako-san, we really need to see the article. It may very well determine the outcome of our love life," said Sendoh, rubbing the back of his head where Ayako had whacked him.

"Yeah. Sendoh is right," said Sakuragi, before lowering his voice, "I need to find a song that can make Haruko-san like me and forget about the stupid kitsune."

Sendoh nodded his head vigorously. "I need to find one for Hana."

"And I need to find one for you, Aya-chan," Miyagi added eagerly, and was immediately whacked on the head again.

"I don't care. I got hold of this magazine first, so you'll have to wait until I'm finished with it," Ayako declared, only to see her resolve fall crumbling to the ground when all three of them looked at her teary-eyed, their hands clasped together.

Grudgingly, she said, "Oh, alright! I'll read it out loud to you then." She cleared her throat, and started reading. "The song at the top of the list is Stevie Wonder's 'Overjoyed', followed by Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy The Silence', D'Angelo's 'Untitled (How Does It Feel)', Al Green's 'Here I Am (Come And Take Me), and Nina Simone's 'Do I Move You?'."

She looked up from the magazine. "Did you guys get all of it?"

They looked back at her, their faces blank.

"Anou..." Sendoh began.

"I don't think..." Miyagi trailed off.

"What kind of songs are those? Do they really exist?" Sakuragi asked, a frown etched on his face. "I knew it. This article's a bull."

Ayako rolled her eyes. "Just because you've never heard of them doesn't mean that they don't exist, Sakuragi."

"And I thought I can finally make Hana accept me," said Sendoh wistfully.

"Not in this lifetime, Sendoh."

Sendoh looked at the person who had spoken and smirked. "Oh, you really think so, Rukawa?"

Rukawa glared at him.

"Where is Hana-chan anyway?" asked Sakuragi, as he looked around the karaoke lounge.

"She's probably still in the shower," Mitsui answered from behind a tall stack of CD's.

At that moment, Fujima walked in. "Aren't you guys singing yet?" he asked, when he saw that nobody was taking to the microphone on the small makeshift stage, where the karaoke set was.

"Nah. Still looking through this humongous pile of CD's you have. I have to say, Fujima, you are loaded. I mean, look at this room. You have a grand piano standing in one corner, a makeshift stage with a karaoke set in another, and, if my calculations are correct, hundreds of CD's, old and new," said Mitsui.

"And the mirrors. If I'm not mistaken, these mirrors are put here for a purpose, right, Fujima-san?" asked Kogure. He was referring to the mirrors which were lining up one side of the room.

"Dancing purposes. My sister, who is currently in America, is rather musically-inclined. She took ballet lessons, piano lessons and singing lessons, see. This room was built specially for her," said Fujima.

Meanwhile, Ayako was still reading the particular article. "Guys, there's more. Listen to these. 'Top 5 Songs About Tragic, Star-Crossed Love That Will Never Work But Will Probably Make You Feel Better About Your Current Situation', 'Top 5 Songs About Killing Your Ex-Boyfriend/Girlfriend', 'Top 5 Songs About Getting Dumped and Still Being Bitter About It', and 'Top 5 Songs That Sound Like Love Songs But Are About Something Else Entirely'."

"Whoa, wait just a minute! Repeat the last one, Ayako," said Mitsui, looking interested.

"'Top 5 Songs That Sound Like Love Songs But Are About Something Else Entirely'. It says here that the song 'The One I Love' by REM is actually about stalking, 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police is also about stalking, 'There She Goes' by The La's-"

"The who?" asked Sakuragi incredulously.

"The La's, Sakuragi. Anyway, it's about heroin. Can you believe it? Oh, and 'Brick' by Ben Folds Five is about abortion, and 'Murder Or A Heart Attack' by Old 97's is about the lead singer's cat."

Silence fell upon them, before everybody doubled over with laughter.

"Ayako-san, can I have the magazine please?" asked Sendoh excitedly.

"How about the 'Top 5 Songs About Killing Your Ex-Boyfriend/Girlfriend'?" asked Ichiro.

"They have Jimi Hendrix's 'Hey Joe', Guns N' Roses' 'Used To Love Her But I Had To Kill Her', The Dixie Chicks' 'Goodbye, Earl', Eminem's 'Kim', and Poe's 'Angry Johnny'. They even have a special bonus track, Elvis Costello's 'Allison'."

"Go on, go on! There must be more of these stuffs," Mitsui urged, eager to hear more.

"Ayako-san, the magazine please," Sendoh repeated his request.

"Um..." Ayako scanned through the article quickly. "Here's a sad one. 'Top 5 Songs About The Fact That No One Will Ever Love You'."

Everybody oohed and aahed, before Ayako continued. "Top of the list is Morrissey's 'Will Never Marry', Liz Phair's 'Divorce Song', Gilbert O' Sullivan's 'Alone Again, Naturally', The Smashing Pumpkins' 'Soma', and The Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby'."

"Ne, Ayako-san, can I have the magazine, please?" asked Sendoh again. "Onegai!"

"Alright, alright! Take it, and leave me alone!" Ayako snapped, thrusting the magazine to his face.

"Arigatou!" Sendoh grabbed the magazine to his chest and ran off by himself to the far end of the room.

Just then, Hanayuki came in, dressed in an oversize white cotton button-up long-sleeve shirt and white shorts. Her hair was let down, since it's still wet.

"Yo, Hana-chan." Mitsui raised a hand in greeting. "Whose shirt is that you're wearing?"

"Fujima-san's. Unlike the rest of you, I didn't have any extra clothes with me, so I had to wear his. Feels comfortable though." She looked around the room, and her eyes landed on the empty stage. "How come no one is singing yet?" she asked, surprised.

"We were waiting for you," said Ayako. "Come and sit down, Yuki-chan."

Hanayuki smiled and plopped down on the sofa next to Ayako, bringing up her legs and folding it underneath her. "Ok, so who's singing first?"

"I am!" Sakuragi and Miyagi said together. 5 seconds later, they were scuffling with each other on the floor.

Ayako slapped her forehead, while Hanayuki laughed at the scene before her.

Suddenly, loud tapping sounds could be heard coming from the speakers. Everybody, including Miyagi and Sakuragi on the floor, looked towards the stage.

It was Sendoh. "Ahem. Konbanwa, minna-san. This song I'm going to sing is especially dedicated to three very special people. Originally, it's only dedicated to one person, but since my two dear friends down there-" Sendoh gestured to Sakuragi and Miyagi who were still on the floor, "-share the same thoughts and feelings as I, I've decided to dedicate this song to their special ones as well, that is, on their behalf. Anyway, the three lucky recipients of this song are Ayako-san, Haruko-san, and my very own Hana. By the way Hana, you look very lovely tonight."

Hanayuki stared at him as if he had grown two horns on his head, feeling a little embarrassed and amused at the same time, while Rukawa shot him with a blast of his trademark icy glare. Sakuragi and Miyagi, on the other hand, got to their feet and applauded, hooting and whistling their support.

Sendoh beamed at them and bowed. "Thank you, my fellow comrades. I appreciate your support. Anyway, here I go." He took a deep breath, and as the music began to play in the background, he started singing at the top of his lungs.

"_Ooooooh... my love, my darling... I've hungered for your touch... A long... lonely time..._"

Hanayuki's jaw fell open, along with the rest of the people in the room. Only Rukawa managed to keep his jaw intact, the glare on his face intensified.

"_And time... goes by... so slowly... and time... can do so much. Are you... still miiiiiiine_"

Hanayuki couldn't suppress a smile, while the others snickered at the slightly off-key tune of the last word. The glare on Rukawa's face intensified even further.

"_I need your love... I need your love... God speed your love... tooooo... meeee_"

By this time, Sendoh had everyone in the room giving him their undivided attention. Hanayuki still had a small smile on her face, Mitsui, Kogure, Ichiro, Fujima, Sakuragi and Miyagi clearly looked impressed, and Ayako and Haruko were staring at Sendoh with star-filled eyes. Even the glare on Rukawa's face had softened a little, if not a lot.

_Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea  
To the open arms of the sea... yeah...  
Lonely rivers sigh, "Wait for me, wait for me."  
"I'll be coming home. Wait for me."_

_Oh... my love, my darling  
I've hungered, hungered for your touch  
A long, lonely time_

_And time goes by so slowly  
And time can do so much  
Are you still mine?_

_I need your love  
I need your love  
God speed your love to me_

The song finally came to an end, and for a while, not a sound could be heard in the room. Then, Hanayuki started clapping softly, and the rest quickly joined in, clapping and cheering as well.

"Sendoh, you're the man!"

"Sendoh-san, can I have your autograph please?"

"Sendoh, from now on, if anybody should give you trouble, you just call this Tensai up, and I'll be there in a flash to save your butt."

"Do'aho."

Sendoh beamed happily around, before sitting down next to Hanayuki. "So Hana, did you like it?"

"Yes, I did. You sang beautifully, Aki," said Hanayuki sincerely.

"Thanks, but er, is that all?" he asked hopefully.

"Um, I guess," Hanayuki answered hesitantly, puzzled by the question.

The smile on Sendoh's face faltered a little, but he quickly brightened up. "Ok. I'm glad you liked it anyway."

"Hey, Sendoh, where did you get the idea to sing the song from?" asked Miyagi.

"It's in the magazine, in the article Ayako-san was reading to us just now."

"Really?" Miyagi grabbed the magazine and flipped to the page which contained the said article. "Which category is it under?"

"It's here, baka," said Ayako, pointing to the bottom of the page. "'Top 5 Songs About Hopeless Devotion and/or Unrequited Love'."

Once again, everybody oohed and aahed, and Hanayuki understood why he had asked the question.

"What? It's just a song, guys," said Sendoh cheerily. "Hey, Mitsui-san, weren't you the one who wanted to celebrate by singing karaoke? Well, now here's your chance."

"Ah, hai! Of course I'm going to sing," said Mitsui, jumping onto the stage.

"Mitchy, I want to sing first!"

"No, Hanamichi, I'm going to sing first!"

"Get your hands off the microphone, Ryochin!"

"Hey! You two should respect your sempai and give the mike to me!"

Soon, singings and laughter could be heard coming from the room. By order of Ayako's incredible fan, Mitsui, Sakuragi and Miyagi took turns to sing without so much of a squabble. Once in a while, Kogure and Ichiro would join them as backup singers.

When they got tired of singing, they got into the game of 'papers, scissors and stone', in which the loser will have to drink half a can of beer. By the time the last few cans of beer were brought out, only Sakuragi and Sendoh were left standing, albeit very drunk, while Mitsui, Miyagi, Kogure and Ichiro were already out cold. Fujima, Rukawa, Ayako, Haruko and Hanayuki were the only ones not drunk, since they kept their hands off anything alcoholic.

"Nyahahahaha! Sendoh, you lose! Now drink up!"

"Ha! Of course I will, Sakuragi. You don't have to tell me twice!"

He reached for the can, but Hanayuki stopped him by removing the can and putting it out of reach. "Aki, I think you've had enough. And you too, oniichan."

"Hana, give me the can," said Sendoh, a goofy smile on his face.

"No, Aki. You've drank more than you should," said Hanayuki. "Come now, let's get you to bed."

"Hana, please bring me the can. I lost the game, so now I have to drink up." He was still smiling at her goofily.

"Yeah, Hana-chan. Let him have it," said Sakuragi, waving his own can around.

Ayako grabbed the can and put it aside. "Get up, Sakuragi! And stop drinking already." She tried to pull him to his feet, but failed miserably, given that Sakuragi's weight was almost twice of her own. "Hey, Rukawa, come give me a hand, will you?"

Rukawa crossed his arms over his chest. "Why should I?"

"Because, I'm going to whack you so hard you won't be able to sleep if you don't do as I say," said Ayako, irritated. "Now, are you coming or not?"

"Kaede, please help Ayako-san. You know how heavy oniichan is, she won't be able to carry him all by herself," Hanayuki added.

Rukawa sighed and gave in. In one swift movement, he walked up to Sakuragi and knocked him unconscious, before pulling him up and carried him out of the room.

"Yuki-chan, I'll be going with Rukawa. Will you be alright with Sendoh-san alone?" asked Ayako.

"Go ahead, I'll be fine. I expect Fujima-san to be here anytime soon. He should have finished putting everyone to bed by now."

"Ok. Then I won't be coming back after this. Haruko should already be in bed too, and I desperately need to get some sleep. Anyway, good night." With one last nod of the head, Ayako went out of the room, leaving the door open.

Hanayuki returned to the task at hand. "Aki, please stop drinking." She tried to extract the can of beer in his hands, peeling his fingers off the can one by one, but his grip was too strong. She then tried to stop him from putting the can to his lips, but got pushed away instead.

Giving up, she sat down on the sofa, leaned back and closed her eyes. _I'll have to wait for Kenji to come back before I can do anything, _she thought wearily.

Just as she was about to doze off waiting, she felt something rather heavy falling onto her lap, and opened her eyes to see Sendoh's head resting on her thighs, his body curled up sideways beside her on the sofa.

"My love... my darling... I need your love... are you still mine..."

Hanayuki smiled ruefully when she heard Sendoh mumbling in his sleep. Caressing his face lightly with her fingers, she said softly, "Aki, just because I don't love you the way you want me to, doesn't mean that I don't love you with all my heart and soul."

Not too long later, Fujima and Rukawa came walking into the room, ready to tackle Sendoh and put him to bed like how they did with the others. They were, of course, surprised to see what they saw.

Hanayuki motioned to them to keep their voices down, before saying, "It's ok. Just let him be. You guys had better go to bed. It's like, really late already."

"But what about you?" said Fujima. "You can't possibly rest like that."

"I'll be fine. Worst case scenario, I'll wait until he wakes up and then go to sleep." She shrugged. "No harm done."

Rukawa frowned. Clearly, he didn't think it was a good idea, and neither did Fujima, who said, "I don't think that's a good idea, Yuki. I'll wake him up now so that both of you can rest properly."

Hanayuki shook her head. "Never mind, Fujima-san. Just let him be."

"Then I'll stay with you," said Rukawa, moving forward and sitting down beside Hanayuki on her right.

Too tired to argue, Hanayuki just nodded her head. "Fine." To Fujima, she said, "Fujima-san, please go back to bed. You must be very tired from preparing everything today."

"Right," Fujima sighed. "Well, good night then." He turned off the lights, leaving a couple on, before exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

A long moment of silence stretched between them, before Rukawa finally spoke. "Yuki?"

"Hai?"

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Hanayuki looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Is there something you're hiding from me?"

Instead of answering the question, she said, "You're so sensitive, Kaede. What makes you think that I'm hiding something from you?"

"You're not answering my question," said Rukawa.

"There's nothing to answer, Kaede, and nothing to tell. Really," Hanayuki insisted. There was a slight tremor in her voice, and it didn't escape from Rukawa's notice.

"I would rather you tell me the terrible truth, Yuki, than lie to me continuously."

"Kaede, there really is nothing to tell. How many times do you want me to tell you?" It was obvious that Hanayuki was getting more and more agitated by the second.

"Yuki-"

"Enough, Kaede."

"Why can't you-"

"I said enough, Kaede. Stop forcing me."

"I just want to-"

"Stop it!" said Hanayuki angrily, her eyes flashing.

"Damn it! Why can't you just tell me what's going on? Why is it that I'm always the last person to know anything? I only wanted to know more about you, to be closer to you, but why won't you let me?" Except for the equally angry gleam in his eyes, he still wore the expressionless look on his face.

Hanayuki refused to answer the question or look at him.

"I'll ask you one more time. Is there anything you're not telling me?"

It took a while before Hanayuki turned to face Rukawa, and when she did, the flash was gone from her eyes, and her face was devoid of all expression.

"No. There is nothing that I'm not telling you," she said softly, putting an emphasis on each word. She held his stare for a moment, before looking away.

"You've fallen in love with him haven't you?" came Rukawa's voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Hanayuki, not looking at him.

Rukawa caught hold of her hand in a tight grip, forcing her to look at him. "You've fallen in love with Fujima, haven't you?" he asked coldly.

Hanayuki returned his cold stare with her own. "Fujima-san is a very good friend. And, please let go of my hand. You're hurting me."

Rukawa roughly released her hand and stood up. Without a backward glance, he walked towards the door, opened it and left the room, closing the door with a slam.

Almost immediately, the tears began to fall from Hanayuki's eyes. Unable to hold them back, she buried her face in her hands and started sobbing quietly.

---

Author's notes: No, I didn't compile the Top 5 lists by myself. Frankly speaking, I didn't know three-quarter of the songs listed. I found them on a website. After writing this, I wanted to change the song to 'Kiss The Girl' from The Little Mermaid. As usual, I got the idea after hearing the song, which is rather... suitable for Sendoh to sing, I think. In the end, I didn't, so I guess I'll save it for later chapters. If I can fit it in somewhere. Anyway, thanks to Kiku, Hikaru and Feely for reviewing. Lucky! I got reviews for this chapter, which is good. At least I know what the readers think about my story so far. I know that Rukawa seems neglected in these few chapters, but trust me when I say it won't be long before everything will be alright. This is the last part of the prelude. Next chapter, we're off to THE revelation. Till then, ja!


	9. A stranger picked me

**Chapter 9: A stranger picked me **

(A/n: Some of you might not like this chapter. Some of you might even cease reading this fic after this chapter. I deeply regret and apologise for everything, but the story WILL go on this way.)

The next morning...

BAM!!!

Rukawa dangled from the basket for a second, before falling to his feet on the ground below. Wiping off the sweat from his forehead, he picked up the ball and dribbled it a few times, before jumping up and dunking it into the basket again.

_Damn it, Yuki! Why is it that you wouldn't tell me anything?! _He thought furiously to himself, panting a little, his hands resting on his knees.

"Maybe she wanted to wait for the right time."

Rukawa turned around to find Fujima standing not too far away from him, a small smile on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Rukawa asked coldly.

"What does it look like I'm doing here?" asked Fujima, holding out his own basketball with one hand, while the other gestured to his basketball attire.

Without another word, Rukawa went to retrieve his own ball and was about to leave the public basketball court when Fujima called him back.

"Hey, Rukawa, you want to go for a one-on-one with me?" he asked.

Rukawa stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Fujima once again. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you would like to go on a one-on-one with me," Fujima repeated. When Rukawa didn't answer immediately, he cocked his head to one side. "I was hoping to solve the problem between us, and I think this is the best way."

That got Rukawa's attention. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Yuki. I know what happened last night, and I don't like it one bit," said Fujima.

Instantly, Rukawa eyes narrowed. "So what if you don't like it? It's none of your business."

"If I think that you're hurting her, then it's my business to make sure that you don't do it again."

"You know what, you're right. It is your business. After all, if it wasn't for you and that girl, everything would've been fine between us."

"That girl has a name, and it's Aoi-chan. In case you are too stupid to know or to blind to see, Yuki loves Aoi-chan. If you can't handle that, then you're better off staying away from the two of them. Or, better still, from the three of us," said Fujima hotly.

The next thing he knew, Rukawa was standing just inches away from him, holding him up by the collar.

"You're the one who should stay away from Yuki," Rukawa said in a very low, very cold voice.

"Alright, how about we place a bet on this game? Whoever loses must stay away from Yuki. Forever," Fujima proposed, not the least intimidated by the very angry and very dangerous Rukawa.

The saner side of Rukawa screamed at him not to accept the challenge, but the angry side was too angry to comprehend anything else.

"Bring it on."

---

Back at Fujima's house, in the music lounge...

The first thing Sendoh saw when he opened his eyes was Hanayuki. She had a far-away look on her face, and her hands were stroking his hair absently. He quickly noticed her blood-shot eyes and the dark circles underneath them.

"Hana?" he called softly.

Hanayuki looked down at him, and gave him a small smile. "Finally, you're awake."

Sendoh yawned. "Ohayo."

"You've been sleeping like a log."

"Who wouldn't?" Sendoh said. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times, before looking back up at Hanayuki. "Then again, maybe not. You haven't slept a wink the whole night, have you?"

"Hmm, how can you tell?"

"That's not the only thing I can tell. You've been crying too, haven't you?"

At this, Hanayuki kept quiet.

"Is it Rukawa?"

She leaned her head back against the sofa. "Last night, he asked me if there was anything I wasn't telling him."

"Oh, and what did you say?" asked Sendoh.

"I said no."

"But he kept on asking?"

Hanayuki nodded. "He said he'd rather I tell him the terrible truth than lie to him continuously."

"Did you tell him then?"

"No," said Hanayuki, shaking her head. "I wanted to, but... but the more he asked me, the more I... the more I couldn't get the words out of my mouth." She buried her face in her hands. "I feel so guilty, Aki. What am I going to do?"

It wasn't long before Hanayuki felt the weight of Sendoh's head lifted off her lap and his arms circling around her.

"There, there... it's ok, Hana. Everything's going to be fine soon," he assured her.

"How am I ever going to find the strength and courage to tell him, Aki?"

"You don't have to. It's already inside of you," said Sendoh.

"It is?"

"Yes. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Since Rukawa loves you very much, and you love him very much in return, you have both the strength and courage inside of you." (A/n: Quote by Lao Tzu)

"Also, let's not forget." He pushed her back and tilted her head so that she was looking up at him. "Just because he thinks you don't love him doesn't mean that you don't. And, just because you don't love him the way he wants you to doesn't mean that you don't love him with all your heart and soul, right?"

Hanayuki looked at him in surprise. "You heard me last night..."

Sendoh raised his eyebrows. "You said that last night? You mean I wasn't dreaming then?"

"Dreaming?"

"Yeah, I thought I heard that in my dream. I guess I wasn't, huh?"

When Hanayuki didn't say anything, he took her hands in his and said, "It's ok. I understand. Really I do. You're right. Just because you don't love me the way I want you to, doesn't mean that you don't love me with all your heart and soul. Besides, love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart." He put a hand on his chest for effect.

Hanayuki couldn't help but smile at his 'wise' words. "That was a quote, wasn't it?"

"Yup. By Washington Irving," Sendoh replied and winked. "You want to hear another one?"

"Oh? You have another one?"

"Of course." Sendoh cleared his throat dramatically. "What I feel for you seems less of earth, and more of a cloudless heaven."

"Uh-huh... very interesting," said Hanayuki, very amused. "And whose quote was that?"

"Victor Hugo."

"Ok. Well, I have one for you too."

"You do? What is it? Come on, tell me!" said Sendoh excitedly.

"To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic," Hanayuki recited from her memory. "It's a quote from De Lamartine."

Sendoh scratched the back of his head. "Er, what does it mean?" he asked.

"It means that you're not human." She smiled at him. "You're an angel."

Sendoh smiled back. "You know, if I need proof that you do love me, I've already found it."

Hanayuki looked at him questioningly, and he continued, "It's in your smile. Because, like Mother Teresa always says, every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that someone, a beautiful thing. And right now, that's what I see on your face. A smile, for me."

Hanayuki's eyes began to tear up, but she held them back. "Aki, has anybody ever told you that you're too sweet and cheesy for the good of most people?"

"Nope, because I've never said any of these sweet and cheesy things to anyone else before. You are the first and the only one."

"Uh-huh..."

"Honest, Hana! I'm serious," said Sendoh.

"Hai, hai. I believe you."

"Oh, and before I forget again..." He reached into his pocket and took out what looked like pieces of tissue paper bunched up together. "Remember when I said I have something for you? Well, this is it."

Hanayuki took it from him and proceeded to unwrap it carefully, revealing a silver bangle. "Is this for me?" she asked.

"Yup. Look on the insides."

Hanayuki did as she was told. She turned the bangle in a way so that she was able to see the insides clearly.

"With love, from Aki to Hana," she read.

"Take it as a belated birthday gift," said Sendoh.

"You really didn't have to, Aki-" Hanayuki began, but Sendoh waved his hand dismissively.

"I bought it like, quite some time ago. If I remember correctly, I got it soon after we met at the jetty. I wanted to give it to you earlier, but never had the chance. Plus, I didn't know anything about your birthday. When is it by the way?"

"It's on the 31st of December. But that's not-"

"You do like it, don't you?"

"I do. I love it."

"Then that's all there is to it. Here, let me put it on for you," he said, taking the bangle from her and putting her hand through it. The bangle fitted just nicely.

"Arigatou," said Hanayuki, smiling.

"You're welcome. But, if you want to repay me, then how about accompanying me for a morning walk? I'm still feeling a little drowsy from last night. A little fresh morning air would do me good."

"Sure, why not?"

---

At the public basketball court, not too far away...

_Kuso! _

Rukawa punched the ground, not caring in the least that he was banging his knuckles on solid concrete.

He had lost. Blinded by his fury, he had been unable to perform his best, and lost to Fujima with the score of 20-16.

_Whoever loses must stay away from Yuki. Forever._

Rukawa punched the ground again. Small trickles of blood began to flow from his bruised knuckles.

"Rukawa, you had better stop doing that if you still want to play basketball," said Fujima.

"What do you care?!" Rukawa spat out. Getting to his feet, he brushed past Fujima without a glance, stalking out of the court.

"Look, Rukawa, we can forget about the bet, you know. I wasn't being serious about it."

He watched as Rukawa stopped, turned around, walked towards him, and pulled him forward by the collar again.

"What do you mean you weren't being serious?" he said through gritted teeth.

"I mean-"

"If you're not serious about Yuki, then why are you doing all this?" Rukawa asked, cutting him off.

"Listen-"

"If you don't love her, then why are you interfering in our lives? Why?!"

"Shut up and listen, will you?!" Fujima shouted, pushing him away. "Don't think that you're the only person who loves her very much. I do too. More than you can ever imagine, more than you'll ever know. So does Sendoh."

"I don't need to hear how much you or Sendoh loves her! I don't need to hear anything from you or him!" Rukawa shouted back.

"You know what, I don't think you love Yuki at all," said Fujima.

Seconds later, he found himself lying on the ground with a bruise on his jaw.

"Don't you dare judge my feelings for her, you bastard!"

Fujima stood up, unaffected and undaunted by the punch Rukawa had just given him. "Rukawa, to give and not expect return, that is what lies at the heart of love. I just can't see how much you love her if you keep on expecting her to return your feelings for her." (A/n: Quote by Oscar Wilde, the author of the story, The Picture of Dorian Gray.)

To his surprise, Rukawa began to yell at the top of his lungs.

---

Meanwhile...

Sendoh was talking animatedly to Hanayuki while she listened intently as they walked down the pavement. Suddenly, they both heard a loud, long yell. It seemed to be coming from ahead of them, not too far from where they were standing.

"What was that?" asked Sendoh to no one in particular.

Hanayuki was frowning. _That sounds familiar... _

---

At the basketball court...

Rukawa was still yelling his head off. (A/n: It's that kind of yell, the long loud kind, if you know what I mean. Of course, this may seem a little OOC of Rukawa, but hey, he's human too. He's yelled before in the anime, although it was during a game and not much of a yell to be honest.)

_Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn everything on the face of this earth to Hell! _

He didn't care that this was probably his first time yelling in many, many years. He didn't care that this was probably his first time venting all his anger and frustrations by yelling. He didn't care that while he was doing it, he was being watched by the one person he very much wanted to kill with his own hands.

All he wanted to do was to let out everything that had been bottled up inside of him for so long. And, however uncharacteristic it was for him to release his pent-up feelings by yelling, he just didn't care anymore.

_Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!!! _

"Kaede?"

He stopped yelling abruptly. Then, as if in slow motion, he turned around to see the source of all his anger and frustrations.

Hanayuki watched as Rukawa slowly turned around to face her. Seeing for the very first time all the pain and anger so plainly written all over his face was more than she could bear, but she couldn't find anything to say that would erase them away.

Nevertheless, she took a step forward. "Kaede..." she began, but Rukawa walked off before she could continue.

"Kaede, please wait!" Hanayuki cried out, but he didn't stop, nor did he slow down. He just continued walking.

Hanayuki went after him. "Kaede, please wait! Please!"

Realising that Hanayuki was coming after him, Rukawa broke into a run. So did Hanayuki.

"Kaede! Kaede!"

Fujima and Sendoh ran after Hanayuki. Both of them knew about her heart condition, and wanted to make sure that she was alright.

As for Rukawa, he just kept on running, not bothering where he was running to, as long as there was a road in front of him. Coming to a deserted crossroad, he ran across without a second thought.

"Kaede!" Hanayuki cried, as she ran across the road herself. She was beginning to pant heavily, but she didn't stop to catch her breath.

"Hana, look out! The car!" Sendoh shouted frantically.

Hanayuki was already in the middle of the road when she heard Sendoh's shout. Frozen on the spot, she looked wide-eyed at the car that was coming right at her.

_"You haven't told me your name."_

_"Would you rather be in a wheelchair, or in my arms?_"

_"I kept my promise."_

_"Call me Kaede."_

_"Do you want me to stay?"_

_"I like to listen to your voice too."_

_"If I smile, will you tell me that you love me?"_

_"I love you."_

_"I'll wait, for as long as it takes."_

_Kaede!_

Squeezing her eyes shut, Hanayuki waited for the feeling of pain and cold to course through her body.

_Are...? Why is it that I don't feel any pain? Is it because I'm already dead? But if I'm already dead, why is it that I feel so warm and safe? _

Slowly, Hanayuki opened her eyes. At first, all she saw was black nothingness.

_Why is it so dark in here? Where am I? _

It took her a while to realise that she was actually looking at a black shirt at close range, which explained why she thought it was dark. It took her longer to realise that the reason she was feeling so warm was because someone was hugging her tightly.

The arms around her slackened their hold on her, and Hanayuki was able to tilt her head up a little to see who it was that was hugging her.

"Kaede...?" she whispered.

Rukawa looked down at her, relief clearly shown on his face. "Daijoubu ka?" he asked softly.

Instead of answering, Hanayuki just stared up at him, before throwing her arms around his neck and buried her face on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Kaede. I'm so sorry. Please... don't leave me. Please..." she sobbed.

Rukawa just held her close and didn't say anything.

Meanwhile, Fujima and Sendoh were standing a little way back to give them some privacy. And, to handle the almost hysterical lady driver of the car which had almost hit Hanayuki.

"Now calm down, lady. It's alright. You didn't hit anybody," said Sendoh, as he tried to stop the woman from pulling out all of her hair

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" The woman kept screaming.

"Please lady, stop screaming. Nobody is hurt," said Fujima. When she didn't stop, he sighed and gave up, turning his attention to Hanayuki and Rukawa.

"That was close isn't it?" he said.

Sendoh nodded his head. He too had given up on calming the woman. "Yeah. Very. I have to hand it to Rukawa. I mean, he just rushed onto the middle of the road and wrapped himself around Hanayuki, shielding her completely. Thank Kami-sama that she-" he pointed to the woman, who was still screaming, "-managed to stop the car in time, about an inch away from them."

Fujima sighed again. "I guess that's the difference between his feelings for Yuki and ours. He loved her so much that he was willing to risk his own life for her. As for us..."

"We just didn't have quick reflexes like his, that's all," said Sendoh.

"Do you really mean that, Sendoh?" asked Fujima, raising an eyebrow.

Sendoh smiled at him sheepishly. "Well, to tell you the truth, I don't know. I mean, it's not that I didn't want to save her. I was just too shocked to do anything."

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" said Fujima, as he looked at the two of them again.

"Nope. Not one bit," Sendoh answered.

---

Later, back at Fujima's house...

The four of them made their way to the dining room, where Sakuragi, Mitsui, Kogure, Miyagi and Ayako were already seated at the table. Haruko and Ichiro were not present, as she had to go home and Ichiro had quickly offered to send her back.

"Hey guys! Where did you go?" asked Ayako.

Sendoh flashed her a smile and replied, "Morning walk. It's a beautiful morning."

"Ah, sou ka?"

Sendoh took a seat beside Miyagi, who was sitting next to Ayako, while Rukawa sat with Sakuragi on his right and Hanayuki on his left. (A/n: Said dining table was rectangle-shaped, meaning it's long. Fujima sat at the head of the table, with Sendoh on his left and Hanayuki on his right. Sakuragi was sitting on Mitsui's left, while Kogure was on Ayako's left, opposite Mitsui.)

Pretty soon, breakfast was served, and everyone helped themselves to the rather sumptuous dishes.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Fujima got up to answer the door. Less than a minute later, they heard Fujima's shout.

"Aoi-chan, stop! Come back here!"

Everybody's head snapped up, but not as fast as Hanayuki's had. She stood up so abruptly that her chair fell back onto the floor, and as she fumbled around she knocked over her glass of milk, spilling it all over the table.

"Hana-chan, are you alright?" Sakuragi asked, concerned.

"Ah, hai. I'm fine. I'm fine." Picking up her chair, she continued, "Would you guys please stay here in this room for a while? Don't go anywhere until I come back."

She left the room quickly before anybody could ask anything.

---

"Ne, otouchan, I want to see okaachan," Aoi-chan whined.

"Aoi-chan, be a good girl, and follow Midori-kaachan outside. She's going to take you the playground," said Fujima, trying to pacify the little girl.

"But I want to see okaachan! Where is okaachan?"

"Aoi-chan-"

"Kenji."

Fujima looked up to see Hanayuki walking towards him.

"Okaachan!" Aoi-chan cried out happily.

Hanayuki knelt down beside Fujima and took Aoi-chan in her arms. "Gomen ne, Aoi-chan. Please be a good girl and listen to okaachan. I need you to go out with Midori-kaachan for a while. I promise I'll come and find you later, alright?"

"But why?" asked Aoi-chan, confused.

"Because... because okaachan has something to do right now. Okaachan needs to settle some things before... before..." she trailed off when she noticed that Aoi-chan wasn't listening to her. In fact, Aoi-chan wasn't even looking at her, but past her shoulder at something behind her.

Fearing the worst, she stood up and turned around to see Rukawa, Sakuragi, Mitsui, Kogure, Miyagi and Ayako looking at her wide-eyed. Sendoh was standing a little apart from them, panting slightly.

"I'm sorry, I tried to stop them, but Rukawa just punched me and threw me against the wall and the next thing I know the whole dining room is empty," he said, the bruise on his cheek as clear as day.

"Ha-Hana-chan... what is going on? Why is she calling you okaachan?" Sakuragi managed to ask, despite the shock he was feeling inside and displayed on his face.

Hanayuki herself wore a shocked expression on her face, but it was quickly replaced with one of resignation.

"Okaachan..." Aoi-chan tugged at Hanayuki's hand to get her attention, her cute little face scrunched up in confusion.

"Aoi-chan-" Fujima began, but Hanayuki stopped him.

"It's ok Kenji." Once again she knelt down in front of Aoi-chan, so that they were looking at each other at eye level. "Aoi-chan, if you don't want to go to the playground, then why don't you go upstairs to your playroom with Midori-kaachan. You can play with your toys there," she said.

"Are you going to play with me?"

"Yes, but not now. Okaachan still has some things to do." She cupped Aoi-chan's face in her hands and continued, "Okaachan will play with you as soon as everything's done, alright?"

Aoi-chan obediently nodded her head and let Midori-kaachan carry her out of the room and up the stairs. Hanayuki waited until they were gone from her sight, before she turned to the others.

"Do you mind if I sit?" she asked, gesturing to the sofas in the room. Without waiting for them to answer, she seated herself on the three-seater. When she saw that they were still standing up, she said, "Perhaps you guys should sit too. It may take a while to... explain everything."

"I'll get you a glass of water," Fujima spoke up, motioning to Sendoh to keep an eye on her while he was gone.

"Hana, are you alright?" Sendoh asked gently, as he took a seat beside her.

Hanayuki gave him a small smile and nodded her head. A minute later, Fujima returned from the kitchen with a glass of water, which he put on the table in front of Hanayuki.

"Kenji..."

"Yes, Yuki?"

"There's no way we can get out of this one, is there?" Hanayuki asked.

Fujima looked at her for a moment, before sitting down beside her and placed a hand on hers. "Perhaps it's time we can't."

Hanayuki looked down at her feet. "Yes... I guess it's time we can't."

"Hello? We're not invisible you know. Stop acting like we're not here," said Mitsui angrily. "What the heck is going on here?"

He was getting frustrated, and he's not the only one. Rukawa walked past him to stand directly in front of Hanayuki, who looked up at him, the expression on her face unreadable.

"Is there anything you're not telling me?" he asked, his own face expressionless.

Hanayuki held his gaze for a moment, before asking back, "What is it that you want to know?"

There was a pause, before he asked the question which was in everybody's mind. "Who is that girl to you?"

"That girl has a name, Rukawa, and it's Aoi-chan," Fujima snapped at him, annoyed that he should refer to Aoi-chan like that.

"Who is she to you?" Rukawa asked again, ignoring Fujima.

He could see that she was struggling to answer the question, as could everybody else. Fujima gave her hand a little squeeze, while Sendoh leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Remember, being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

Taking a deep breath, she said in a clear soft voice, "She's my daughter."

Needless to say, everyone in the room (except for Fujima and Sendoh) was stunned at the revelation. The usual eye-bulging and jaw-dropping scene took place, Sakuragi practically stopped breathing, and Rukawa felt as if his whole world was crashing down on him.

There was silence all around, until Mitsui laughed out nervously.

"You're joking right, Hana-chan? You're not Aoi-chan's mother, her mother is working overseas. That's what you told us Fujima. Isn't that what you told us?"

The question went unanswered, and the whole atmosphere in the room changed from bad to worse. Everyone began to shift uneasily.

"Oi, Fujima, isn't that what you told us before, huh?! Why aren't you saying anything now?!" Mitsui shouted.

Again, his question went unanswered.

"Hana-chan, this... this can't be true..." Sakuragi stammered.

Hanayuki looked at him sadly. "You should know better, oniichan, whether or not I'm telling the truth. You and Kaede should know better."

"What do you mean?"

"The two of you must have seen the similarities between me and Aoi-chan the first time you saw her. You must have noticed that she looked exactly like how I used to look like when I was 3. You did, didn't you? That was why you followed me all the way here from the stadium yesterday, because you've been suspecting something from the very beginning." She smirked a little. "If Aki hadn't chanced upon you guys following me and followed you himself, he wouldn't have been able to call me just in time for me to send Aoi-chan off to my place for the night before you guys barged in."

Nobody said anything after that, and after what seemed like an eternity, Rukawa asked yet another question which was plaguing everyone's mind.

"Is Fujima really her father?" he asked quietly.

Hanayuki shook her head. "No, he's not."

"He isn't?" asked Sakuragi, surprised. Clearly, he had been expecting the answer to be yes, and so had the others.

"No."

"Then who is Aoi-chan's father?" demanded Mitsui.

Hanayuki had been anticipating the question from the start, but it still managed to take her breath away. She could feel her heartbeat going faster and faster by the second, and it took all of her mental strength to calm down enough to say, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know who the father is if she really is your daughter?" said Mitsui.

"Shut up, Mitsui! You have no idea what you're talking about!" Fujima said angrily.

"You shut up! You were the one who caused all this trouble in the first place!" Mitsui retorted. "Anyway, it's not as if what I said didn't make sense. I mean, what does she mean by she doesn't know who the father is? She couldn't have just gone for a walk on the streets and picked a stranger."

At this, Sendoh got to his feet, an angry expression on his face. "Keep your mouth shut, Mitsui! I can't believe you actually said that!"

Mitsui also stood up. "Stay out of this, Sendoh. It's none of your business!"

"Anything that has got to do with Hana is my business!"

"Well, that's what you think!"

"No, that's what I know!"

"Go to hell!"

The argument would have gone on for a while, if they hadn't broken off upon hearing someone laughing.

"Hana-chan?" Sakuragi looked at her, bewildered.

Hanayuki just kept on laughing, so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Yuki..." Fujima started, but Hanayuki held up a hand and waved at him to keep quiet, before wiping off the tears on her face.

By then, it became clear to everyone that she was actually crying.

"Hisashi-niichan, I didn't go for a walk on the streets and picked a stranger," she said, looking at Mitsui. "It was the other way round."

Her lips curved up to form a bitter smile, as she finished, "A stranger picked me."

And that was it. Without another word, she got up and left the room, leaving behind a shell-shocked crowd.

---

Author's notes: I have done enough research to know for a fact that there ARE girls out there who are 16 and have 3-year-old kids. Like I've mentioned at the start of the chapter and in the summary, some of you may accept it, some of you may not. Again, I apologise to those of you who didn't or couldn't accept it. I won't be changing the plot, though, because this is how I drafted the story, and if I change it, there won't be a story.


	10. Dreams & flashbacks

**Chapter 10: Dreams & flashbacks**

3 years ago, New York, America...

Hanayuki quietly closed the door behind her, before walking down the front steps and out of the front yard to the sidewalk. She took in a deep breath of the cold morning air. _It's still a little dark, but at least the air's fresh. _

After a couple of warm-ups, she began to jog down the walkway. Because it was a Sunday morning, there weren't many people on the streets; most of them were still keeping themselves warm underneath their blankets.

_Oh well, all the better. I don't have to dodge baby prams, cyclists or other runners. The road is all mine. _

Taking the usual route, she ran past a block of shop lots which were currently under renovation.

_Yuck! The smell around this place is horrible. I wish they would hurry up and finish whatever they're supposed to be-_

A pair of dark, callused hands placed themselves over her mouth from behind, snapping her out of her thoughts. She struggled as hard as she could, her hands trying to peel off the hands which were clamped over her mouth, her legs kicking out against the ground.

She found herself being dragged further away from the sidewalk and into the back alley of the empty shop lots. The sinking feeling in her heart sank even lower. _Oh my God! Please, somebody help me! _

The attacker suddenly let go of her and slammed her against the wall, before lunging towards her. Instinctively, Hanayuki kicked out at him, hitting him in the stomach. Seeing her attacker doubling over in pain, she took the opportunity to escape, but before she was even 5 steps away, he pulled her back, this time throwing her on the ground.

Hanayuki tried to scream, but broke off when she felt something hard hit the side of her head. Then the other side.

_Somebody please help me! _

She knew that all would be lost if she didn't stay conscious, but there was nothing she could do as the world around her began to slip away into darkness. And the last thing she saw before everything went black was the blurry face of her attacker, which was coming closer and closer towards her own...

---

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Hanayuki screamed, at the same time sitting up in bed. Sweat beads lined her forehead, as she breathed heavily.

"It's alright Yuki. It's just a dream."

Hanayuki looked at Rukawa, who was looking back at her in concern. He reached out to brush off her dishevelled hair from her face. "It's just a dream."

"Kaede..." Hanayuki closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Yes, it's just a dream."

"Go back to sleep. It's ok. I'm here with you," said Rukawa soothingly.

Hanayuki nodded her head again, and lay back down on the bed, her back facing Rukawa. She let Rukawa pull the blanket around her, and didn't protest when she felt him lying down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his chest.

Relishing in the warmth of his body, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

---

Hanayuki woke up to find herself surrounded by people. Their faces were blurry, and even after she blinked numerous times to clear her vision, they still looked blurry.

She tried to speak, but nothing came out of her mouth. She then tried to listen to what they were saying, but all she could hear was... nothing.

Her head began to throb badly, and she closed her eyes, as if doing so would ease the pain. When she opened them again, she found herself in another room, which looked like a doctor's office. Her parents were sitting quietly, their eyes red and puffy, across the desk opposite a man she assumed to be the doctor, who looked grim. Hanayuki herself was standing in a corner of the room.

"Okaasan? Otousan?" Hanayuki called out, but nobody answered her. It was as if they couldn't hear her or even see her. It was then she realised that, apart from being able to see clearly, she could speak and hear clearly too.

Just then, the doctor began to speak.

"Mr and Mrs Anzai, your daughter was very lucky to have survived the attack. It could have been worse, as she could have had a heart attack and die from heart failure, but that didn't happen, so we must be thankful for that."

"What about her hearing, doctor? Is there nothing you can do about it?" asked Anzai-sensei. He sounded desperate.

"I'm sorry, Mr Anzai, but we have done all we can. She had been hit hard on both sides of her head, causing severe damage to her inner ear organs. It is already a wonder that she didn't lose her hearing completely. Not to mention that she didn't suffer from brain damage."

"But she lost almost 90 of her hearing in her left ear and half in her right ear! She'll have to depend on hearing aids for the rest of her life. What difference does it make, whether or not she lost her hearing completely?" Mrs Anzai burst out tearfully.

"I'm really sorry, Mrs Anzai-"

"She's just turned 12! Her birthday was just 2 weeks ago. How can something like this happen to her?" Unable to control her emotions any longer, Mrs Anzai started crying, and Anzai-sensei put his arms around her, trying very hard not to cry himself.

Hanayuki tried to reach out to them, but the more she tried, the more they seemed to shrink into the background, until all she could see was white nothingness.

Next scene...

(A/n: Hanayuki is recollecting her past in her dream, and the scenes change from one to another, thus the 'Next scene...'.)

Hanayuki found herself in another doctor's room. Like before, Anzai-sensei and Mrs Anzai were also in the room, sitting together across the desk opposite the doctor. Only this time, the doctor was a woman. The expressions on each of their faces remained the same; Anzai-sensei and Mrs Anzai looked sad, while the doctor looked grim.

Again, Hanayuki tried to call out to them, but to no avail.

"Mr and Mrs Anzai, I hope that you'll stay calm after hearing what I have to tell you. This is going to be difficult to accept, I know, but if you wish to help Hana-chan, you have to stay calm and focused," said the doctor.

"What is it, doctor?" Anzai-sensei asked, his voice soft and fearful.

The doctor looked at them for a moment, before answering, "I'm afraid Hana-chan is already 2 months pregnant."

Tears began to roll down Mrs Anzai's cheeks, while Anzai-sensei buried his face in his hands.

Next scene...

"Hana-chan."

Hanayuki looked up to see Anzai-sensei and his wife walking into the hospital room, followed by a nurse. Mrs Anzai seated herself on the chair next to the hospital bed and held Hanayuki's hands in hers.

"Hana-chan, we've just come back from the baby's room. She looks absolutely adorable. In fact, she looks just like you when you were a baby," she said.

Hanayuki looked away without responding. Her left hand subconsciously touched the spot near her abdomen, where the doctors had cut her open and took out the baby through a Caesarean-section.

"Hana-chan, are you sure you want to give her up for adoption? She is yours after all. You gave birth to her after carrying her for 9 months," said Mrs Anzai.

"She's not mine. And yes, I want to give her up for adoption," came Hanayuki's reply.

"Won't you at least take a look at her before she is given up for adoption?" asked Mrs Anzai sadly.

"No. I don't want to see her. Just give her away and be done with it."

Next scene...

Hanayuki was standing in the living room of her American home. She looked at the little girl, who looked no more than 3 years old and was seated on the floor with Anzai-sensei.

_It can't be her. It can't be. She was given up for adoption two years ago, wasn't she? What is she doing here then? _

"I'm sorry, Hana-chan, but we never gave Aoi-chan up for adoption. All this while, she has been staying with your Tomo-niichan and his family," she heard her mother say.

Next scene...

Hanayuki was lying in bed, crying. Ever since that day when she saw Aoi-chan for the very first time, she had been having nightmares of the incident 3 years before, something which hasn't happened for a long time. It didn't help that the little girl called her okaachan, since she recognised Hanayuki from pictures shown to her by Anzai-sensei and Mrs Anzai (they told Aoi-chan that the person in the pictures (in this case Hanayuki) was her mother).

She didn't hear someone coming into the room through the open door, until she felt that someone tugging at the blanket. It was Aoi-chan.

"Okaachan, why are you crying?" asked Aoi-chan.

Hanayuki just stared at her, not knowing how to answer the question. To her surprise, the little girl climbed onto the bed (with a little struggle, of course), lay down beside her, and touched her face gently.

"Don't cry, okaachan. Aoi-chan loves you."

As if the magic words had been spoken, all the barriers that Hanayuki had put up between her and Aoi-chan broke down. That night, and the nights after that, Hanayuki hugged Aoi-chan to sleep.

---

Rukawa could feel Hanayuki's ragged breathing slowly calming down, as he held her in his arms.

-Flashback-

"Rukawa, just to let you know, it's not that she didn't tell you about it because she didn't love you. On the contrary, it is because she loved you too much that she didn't want to tell you. She was afraid that you wouldn't be able to accept the fact that she had been... well, you know, and is a mother of a 3-year-old kid," said Fujima.

Other than the tiny flicker of hope coming to life in his eyes, Rukawa didn't show any indication that he was overjoyed or even glad to hear this.

"There's also something else which I think you should know," Fujima continued. "It's about your father."

That took Rukawa by surprise, whose eyes widened considerably.

"I'm sure you already knew about your father hiring a detective to investigate Yuki's background."

"Nani?!" Sakuragi burst out, before Fujima could go on. "He did?!"

"Man, why the heck did he do that for?" Mitsui asked.

"Guys, please, can I continue?" asked Fujima, before continuing, "Anyway, what you probably don't know is that he once went to Yuki's house to see her. To put it nicely, he asked her not to see you again. To put it in a bad way, he threatened her to stay away from you."

Rukawa stiffened in his seat. _What the hell...!_

"Which she did, in a way, if you still remember what had happened after that. You guys remained as friends, and thankfully, your father left her alone, although she didn't exactly do as he had said. Towards the end of last year, she began to think that she didn't care about your father, and was going to accept you, but, who knew that a trip to America would change all that? With Aoi-chan back in her life, she didn't think that it would work out. Even if you didn't care about her past, your father wouldn't have just sit back and let you do whatever you want."

"Rukawa," Sendoh spoke up. "I understand your frustrations of not knowing what's going on, especially when it concerns someone you love very much. But just because she didn't tell you anything doesn't mean that she didn't love you. Just because she didn't love you the way you wanted her to, doesn't mean that she didn't love you with all her heart and soul. That was what she had told me yesterday, and now I'm telling you."

-End of flashback-

Rukawa closed his eyes and snuggled closer to Hanayuki.

_It's alright now, Yuki. I won't let anyone hurt you again. I'll always be here by your side to protect you, and I won't let anything or anyone get in our way. Not even if it's Kami-sama. We'll always be together, no matter what. I swear. _

---

Fujima sat alone in the dining room, his hands clasped together, lost in his own thoughts. Up until about an hour ago, the dining table had been filled with 7 other people, all of whom were curious to know about Hanayuki's past.

Being one of the very few who knew all the details, Fujima had spent almost half an hour relating the story and answering questions. When all was said and done with, Sakuragi, Mitsui, Kogure, Sendoh, Miyagi and Ayako had gone home, while Rukawa went upstairs to watch over Hanayuki.

Fujima recalled the question which Sakuragi had asked.

_"How did you get into the picture, Fujima?"_

_How did I get into the picture? I guess it's fate, Sakuragi. It was fate that got me into the picture... _

-Flashback-

"Oh, that's our plane, Kenji," exclaimed Mrs Fujima. She took one last look at her son and ruffled his hair. "Now you take good care of yourself, alright?"

"Yes, okaasan. I will. You take care too. Send my regards to oneesan," said Fujima.

"I will. I'd better get going. Bye!" With a wave of her hand, Mrs Fujima went off in search of the said gate.

Fujima waved back and started walking in the opposite direction. _Best be using the men's room before going home. _

Some minutes later, when he came out of the men's room, he saw a small girl standing right outside the women's room, crying her eyes out.

Kneeling down in front of her, Fujima asked, "Hello there. Why are you crying? Are you lost?"

The little girl stopped crying long enough to nod her head, before wailing at the top of her lungs again.

"Don't cry. Oniichan will help you find your parents, alright?" said Fujima, patting her on the head gently. Just as he was about to carry her up, the door to the women's room burst open, and a young woman rushed out, panic written all over her face.

Catching sight of the little girl in front of her, she dropped to her knees and pulled the girl towards her in a tight hug. "Aoi-chan, thank Kami-sama you're alright! Okaachan was almost scared to death!"

_This lady looks familiar, _thought Fujima to himself.

When she looked at him, he immediately recognised her.

"Hanayuki-san?"

---

"...so that's how it is," Anzai-sensei finished.

Fujima stared at his cup of coffee, not knowing how to respond or what to say. He was at the Anzais' house, where Anzai-sensei had just told him everything about his daughter's past.

For a while, neither of them said anything. Then, with a determined look on his face, Fujima said, "Anzai-sensei, perhaps there's something I can do to help her."

---

"This is Midori-kaachan," Fujima introduced.

Hanayuki bowed to the older woman, who bowed back.

"Midori-kaachan used to be my nanny; now she's my family's housekeeper. She's very good with children. I'm sure Aoi-chan will love her," Fujima continued.

"Thank you, Fujima-san, but I really do not wish to trouble you," said Hanayuki. "You have no obligation to help me."

Fujima took Hanayuki's hands in his. "True, I have no obligation to help you, but I want to. And I hope that you will let me."

Tears brimming in her eyes, Hanayuki smiled and nodded her head.

Fujima smiled back. "If Aoi-chan stays here, you won't have to worry about people finding out about her. She'll be very well taken care of, and I'll drop by to check on her every day; my university isn't far from here. If you want to see her, I can always go over to your place and bring you here, since you don't live too far away either and I have my own car and driving license."

"Hai. Arigato gozaimasu, Fujima-san," said Hanayuki gratefully.

"You're welcome, Hanayuki-san."

-End of flashback-

_It wasn't too long after that before we started calling each other by our first names. It wasn't too long after that either before Aoi-chan started calling me otouchan... _

-Flashback-

Fujima peeked into the room, where Aoi-chan was sitting quietly in a corner, holding a male doll in her hands.

"Aoi-chan, why are you sitting there all by yourself?" asked Fujima, as he approached the little girl.

When Aoi-chan didn't respond, Fujima sat down beside her and asked, "What's wrong, Aoi-chan?"

"Ne, Ken-niichan, where is my otouchan?" asked Aoi-chan.

Fujima was taken aback by the unexpected question. "Why do you ask, Aoi-chan?"

"I watched this cartoon today, and I saw the papa dog playing with the baby dog. I want to play with my otouchan too," came the innocent reply.

Fujima was at a total lost for words. How was he supposed to tell a 3-year-old kid that even her own mother didn't know who her father was?

Aoi-chan began to sniff. "I want to play with my otouchan..."

_I definitely wouldn't mind being your otouchan... _

"Hontou?"

Fujima looked at Aoi-chan, who was staring back at him with big, shiny, blue eyes. "Huh?"

"Will you really be my otouchan?" she asked excitedly.

Fujima realised in horror that he had unknowingly voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Er... actually... I um..."

"Will you really, really, really be my otouchan?"

_Fujima Kenji, what are you getting yourself into...? _

Fujima nodded, and Aoi-chan got to her feet and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, squealing happily.

"Yay! I have an otouchan! I have an otouchan!"

Fujima couldn't help but laugh at her antics.

_Well, look at it from the bright side. You just made a child happy. And, I think I just made myself happy too. I wonder if Yuki will be as happy..._

-End of flashback-

Fujima smiled to himself.

_How I wished that I could be your otouchan forever, Aoi-chan. Unfortunately, now that Rukawa is in the picture... Aoi-chan, I think you're going to have a new otouchan soon. _

---

At the train station...

Sendoh got off the train and headed towards the entrance of the train station. After waiting for a while for a cab to appear, but none did, he thrust his hands into his pockets and began to make his way home on foot.

-Flashback-

"Fujima-san!"

"Sendoh?" Fujima exclaimed, surprised to see the captain of the Ryonan basketball team there. "What are you doing here?"

Sendoh laughed in reply. "What else can you do in a supermarket, Fujima-san?"

"Oh, right."

"Anyway, I was wondering if you can tell me where the canned-food section is. I'm on a grocery errand for my mother see, and she asked me to buy this particular brand of canned mushroom for her, but I can't seem to find which aisle they're in," said Sendoh, all in one breath.

"Um, ok. It's right there, Sendoh. See that sign? Just go straight, and turn into the 2nd last aisle on your left," said Fujima, pointing to the said directions.

"Oh, thank you, Fujima-san! You really saved me from a lot of trouble. By the way, are you shopping for groceries alone?"

Before Fujima could say anything, a little girl came running up to him from around the corner. "Otouchan, I want this chocolate!"

"Hai, hai." Fujima took the bar of chocolate from her and put it in the trolley. "Where's your okaachan?"

The little girl shook her head.

"Ah, sou ka?" said Fujima. Looking up, he saw Sendoh grinning mischievously at him.

"Wow, Fujima-san, I didn't know you actually have a daughter of your own. So lucky, ne?"

"Actually-" Fujima started to say, but was cut off by a voice coming from behind Sendoh.

"Kenji, is Aoi-chan with you?"

Still grinning madly, Sendoh turned around to face the owner of the voice, and felt the grin froze on his face.

_What the... Hana?_

As if he wasn't surprised enough to see Hanayuki there, he was further surprised when the little girl cried out, "Okaachan!"

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know who she was referring to.

"Ha-Hana? Did she just call you...? But how-? Why-?" There were so many questions swirling in Sendoh's mind that he didn't know which one to ask first.

It was Fujima, rather than Hanayuki, who came up to him and stirred him away, out of the supermarket and into the first coffee shop they come across, where they sat down and he was told everything about Hanayuki's past.

-End of flashback-

_I would never have thought that Hana had a daughter. And a 3-year-old one at that. Too bad I was a step later than Fujima, or I could've been the one Aoi-chan calls otouchan. Oh well, at least I was a step earlier than Rukawa. _

He sighed and looked up at the sky.

_If only a step earlier than Rukawa makes me, and not him, Aoi-chan's future otouchan for life... _

---

Clang!

Sakuragi kicked a stray can out of his way, as he wandered around aimlessly.

_Good things rarely come true. The bad ones do. _

-Flashback-

"Do'aho."

Sakuragi turned around and found himself face-to-face with Rukawa. He narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, kitsune?

"We need to talk."

"I have nothing to talk to you about, kitsune. Now leave me alone. In case you didn't notice, I was in the middle of thinking about something." He turned to leave.

"I didn't know that you think," Rukawa deadpanned.

Sakuragi turned to face Rukawa again. "Teme! Are you looking for a fight, Rukawa?!"

"I said, we need to talk."

"And I said I have nothing to talk to you about!" Sakuragi said furiously. Again, he turned to leave, but stopped when he heard what Rukawa said next.

"It's about the girl."

Slowly, Sakuragi turned around and looked at Rukawa. "Aoi-chan?"

Later, the two boys were seated in a corner of a nearby coffee shop.

"You saw it, didn't you?" asked Rukawa.

"Saw what?" Sakuragi asked back.

"The girl."

"Of course I saw the girl. The Tensai is not blind."

Rukawa felt like punching the redhead in the face. "Do'aho, I meant her face."

Sakuragi raised his eyebrows. "What about her face?"

"Are you Yuki's brother or not, do'aho?"

"Teme! Of course I am!"

"Then, you should know how she looked like when she was 3 years old," said Rukawa.

"Sure I do! She looked exactly like Aoi-chan-" Sakuragi broke off when he realised what he had just said.

"Finally..." Rukawa muttered.

"You mean, you saw the resemblance too?" Sakuragi asked, his eyes wide.

"I saw the pictures. What do you think?"

For once, Sakuragi had nothing to say back to Rukawa.

"What do you think about it?"

Sakuragi shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps it's just a coincidence. I mean, there are unrelated people in this world who look like one another. Plus, kids in general look the same."

"And the name?"

"Well, a lot of people have the same name. Besides, Hana-chan changed her name, remember?" Sakuragi said nonchalantly. He looked at Rukawa, who looked back at him. For a couple of minutes, neither of them said anything, having engaged themselves in a staring competition.

After what seemed like eternity, Sakuragi sighed and said, "I think I know what you're thinking about. Don't you think it's rather outrageous? That Aoi-chan and Hana-chan are related to each other somehow is totally unthinkable. After all, I've known Hana-chan since she was 7, and I've never heard her mention anything about a sister or anything."

"What if they're not sisters but something else? There's something which Fujima is not telling us," said Rukawa.

"You know what, kitsune, you think too much. Thank Kami-sama I'm not like you. My brain wouldn't have lasted a minute from all that thinking you're doing," said Sakuragi.

"I never knew you had a brain, do'aho."

"You'd better not push it, kitsune. And, you'd better stop calling me that too," Sakuragi growled threateningly.

"You call me kitsune," Rukawa pointed out nonchalantly.

"What the- che! Whatever," Sakuragi grunted. "Anyway, it's not what you think, I'm sure of it. Therefore, the matter ends here. Do you understand me, Ru-ka-wa?"

Rukawa refrained from rolling his eyes. "Whatever, Sa-ku-ra-gi."

"Good. That's settled then," said Sakuragi. He paused, before continuing, "There's nothing to worry about. There's nothing to even _think _about in the first place."

-End of flashback-

_Yeah, there was nothing to think about, until the day we followed Hana-chan to the hospital and found out that she was on a first-name basis with Fujima. I had another talk with the stupid kitsune and ended up being splashed with coffee. Even then, I didn't think that it would be possible, that Hana-chan was related to Aoi-chan. But now, not only is Hana-chan related to Aoi-chan, she's actually her mother. And to think it all happened because she was... was... _

_"I didn't go for a walk on the streets and picked a stranger. It was the other way round."_

_"A stranger picked me."_

BAM!

"Kuso!" Sakuragi cursed furiously, his fist embedded in the wall. "Kuso!"

"KUSO!"

---

Author's notes: So a lot of questions should be answered with this chapter. Hmm... before I forget, I would like to apologise to the anonymous reviewer, bewildered. I'm sorry that you didn't like the previous chapter. I'm sad of course that I've lost your respect. But the truth is it's not unthinkable that a 16-year-old has a 3-year-old daughter. I know people who knew people who had miscarriages or abortions or babies at the age of 12/ 13. Honest. Anyway, thanks to all who have read. Many thanks to those who have reviewed.


	11. A very short interlude

**Chapter 11: A very short interlude **

"Please be careful, Aoi-chan. You don't want to go back to the hospital, do you?" Hanayuki called out.

"Hai, okaachan!" Aoi-chan shouted back, before running off to another corner of the playground.

"Wait for me, Aoi-chan!" Sakuragi called after her, jogging slightly to keep up with the little girl. Behind him, Rukawa was slowly making his way after them.

It's been a week since the shocking revelation of Hanayuki's past. Fortunately, those who were present on that fateful day were careful not to bring it up again, and for that, Hanayuki was grateful.

"So..." Fujima spoke up. He was sitting on the park bench beside Hanayuki, watching Rukawa and Sakuragi play with Aoi-chan. "Things have taken a turn for the better, huh?"

"I guess you can say that," Hanayuki replied softly. _I guess you can say that... _

"Well, at least Rukawa's beginning to accept Aoi-chan," Sendoh chipped in. "Which is good start, ne?"

"I guess..." said Hanayuki.

"What's with all the guesses, Yuki?" Fujima asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hanayuki heaved a sigh. "Well, I don't really know myself. This past week has been rather... surreal. On one hand, I felt relieved that it's all out in the open. On the other, I can't help but feel a little awkward whenever I'm with them."

"Don't worry, Hana. Didn't you feel the same when we first found out? You'll get used to it soon enough," Sendoh assured her.

"I guess..."

"There you go again," Fujima said exasperatedly.

Hanayuki laughed. "Alright, alright. I don't _guess. _I _know _that I'll get used to it soon. Is that good enough for you?"

"At least it's better than I guess."

Meanwhile...

"Ne, Hana-niichan, push me higher," said Aoi-chan. She was sitting on the swing, and Sakuragi was pushing her while Rukawa stood aside and watched.

"Sorry Aoi-chan, but your okaachan specifically told me not to push any harder than I am right now," he replied.

"But Hana-niichan, you're not even pushing," she whined.

Indeed, the swing was barely moving more than 2 inches forwards and backwards.

"Do'aho, do you know how to push a swing or not?" said Rukawa.

"Stay out of this, kitsune. I don't need you to tell me how to push a swing," Sakuragi warned.

"Whatever. Move aside, do'aho." Rukawa moved forward, practically shoving Sakuragi out of the way. "This is how you push a swing," he said, and proceeded to push the swing so that it moved exactly 3 inches forwards and backwards.

"Kae-niichan, you're not pushing either," Aoi-chan complained.

"This is high enough Aoi-chan, and from now on, don't call me Kae-niichan anymore."

"Then what do I call you, Kae-niichan?" asked Aoi-chan.

"Kaede-touchan," came the reply.

"NANI??!" Sakuragi burst out.

Ignoring her Hana-niichan, Aoi-chan asked, "Why?"

"Yeah! Why should she call you that, kitsune?" asked Sakuragi.

"Because she's going call me that in the future anyway, do'aho. Might as well start now," Rukawa answered, his face expressionless as usual.

"You're one overconfident guy, aren't you, kitsune? I mean, how sure are you that Hana-chan will definitely marry you in the future?"

"I don't have to be sure, do'aho. I know."

"Geez."

"And Aoi-chan, you shouldn't call your Hana-niichan Hana-niichan anymore too," Rukawa continued. "From now on, call him Hana-jiichan."

"NANI??!" Sakuragi burst out again.

"Why?" asked Aoi-chan.

"Because he is your okaachan's brother, and therefore is your ojiichan. That's why you shouldn't call him Hana-niichan, but Hana-jiichan. Do you understand, Aoi-chan?"

The little girl looked as if she was going to refuse, and Rukawa waited with anticipation. After what seemed like forever, Aoi-chan nodded her head vigorously. "Hai, Kaede-touchan!"

Unable to resist, Rukawa smiled at the response, and Sakuragi marvelled at the fact that he was able to live to see the day Rukawa actually smiled, though not at him.

_He's got it bad for Hana-chan..._

---

Later...

"NANI??!" Fujima and Sendoh burst out together.

"Yeah, that's how I reacted too," said Sakuragi.

Hanayuki was too surprised to say anything.

"Alright! That's it!" Sendoh went down on one knee and opened his arms, beckoning to Aoi-chan. "Aoi-chan, come here and give your Aki-touchan a hug."

"Oh no. Not you too, Sendoh. I thought you had more sense than Rukawa," Fujima reprimanded.

Rukawa snorted.

Fujima turned on him immediately. "What's that supposed to mean, Rukawa?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

"I think he's saying that you're just jealous," said Sakuragi.

"Are you sure that's all he's saying?"

Sakuragi looked annoyed. "Look, I know what I've heard, alright? I mean, I don't listen to kitsune language for one whole year and not learn a thing or two about it. He said exactly what I've told you. He said that you're just jealous because you didn't want him or anybody else to take over your current position as Aoi-chan's substitute father."

"Well, kitsune language or not, I think you're being a little overconfident here Rukawa," said Fujima. "How sure are you that Hanayuki's definitely going to marry you in the future?"

"That's what I told him," Sakuragi said. "But as if it would get through that thick skull of his."

Rukawa just looked at them nonchalantly and turned his attention to Aoi-chan, who was currently in Sendoh's arms. "Would you like to have some ice-cream, Aoi-chan?" he asked her.

"Hai!" Aoi-chan replied enthusiastically.

Rukawa approached Sendoh and reached out to take Aoi-chan into his arms. It would have been a tug-of-war between the two blue-eyed boys, if it wasn't for Hanayuki who cleared her throat and looked at them pointedly. Reluctantly, Sendoh let Rukawa have Aoi-chan.

"Wai! Arigatou, Kaede-touchan!"

Rukawa smirked rather triumphantly at this, while Sendoh felt as if it was the end of the world. Fujima wasn't too bothered by it, since Aoi-chan still called him otouchan, but to say that he didn't mind it at all would be total denial on his part.

As for Hanayuki, she felt... guilty. She could see that Rukawa was doing his very best to fit in, and she loved him more because of that, but she couldn't help thinking that he deserved much more than this.

"Okaachan!"

Hanayuki snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Aoi-chan calling her.

"Yes, Aoi-chan?"

"Kaede-touchan asked me to ask you if you want ice-cream too."

Hanayuki smiled at the little girl. "Hai. Let's go together, shall we?" She turned to the other three. "You guys want to come along?"

"You bet I want to come along," Sendoh said quickly, earning himself a glare from Rukawa.

Fujima shrugged. "Why not?" He also got a glare from Rukawa.

"This Tensai had better come along to make sure everything is fine," Sakuragi declared. Needless to say, he too got a glare from Rukawa.

ZAP!

ZAP!

ZAP!

ZAP! (Note: sparks of electricity flying between the four boys)

"Anou, can we go now?" asked Hanayuki, breaking them up.

Rukawa looked at Hanayuki, before glancing at the other three, as if to tell them that if it wasn't for Hanayuki, he would have gladly stood firm and glared at them for all he wanted.

Sendoh and Fujima looked back at him, as if to reply that he isn't the only one who knows how to glare, and that they too, are more than willing to glare at him for the rest of their lives.

Sakuragi looked as if he was saying that the Tensai is not afraid of anything and can glare better than anyone.

They glared at each other again, and sparks of electricity began to fly once more.

Hanayuki let out a sigh of exasperation.

Aoi-chan merely blinked at the scene before her.


	12. Daiei Gakuen

**Chapter 12: Daiei Gakuen**

Hanayuki looked at the small notebook in her hands. _Yanada Kiyoyuki. First-year student in Daiei Gakuen. Given more training and experience, he should be a very good player in the future, but right now, he's a tad little behind oniichan, which is not too bad for us, in a sense._

"What are you looking at, Yuki-san?" Ichiro asked, leaning towards her to take a peek. His eyes widened at what he saw. "These are information on each and every player of Daiei Gakuen. How did you get those? And how come you didn't tell us about it?"

"I just got them yesterday, Ichiro," Hanayuki explained.

She watched in amusement as Ichiro and Haruko went gaga over the notebook and the information inside. She turned her attention back to the game, where Sakuragi was currently holding the ball and trying to keep it out of reach of the Daiei Gakuen's players.

10 minutes had passed since the game started. Shohoku had sent out Miyagi, Sakuragi, Rukawa, Tendo and Mikage as their starting 5, while Daiei Gakuen, the opposing team had sent in Tsuchiya Jun (captain and small forward), Kishino Yukimasa (power forward), Tsujitani Kouji (point guard), Yanada Kiyoyuki (center) and Tanaka Hideyuki (shooting guard). The score was 38-36, Shohoku leading by 2 points.

(A/n: Does anybody recognise these names? Give you a hint, they have something to do with Slam Dunk. Think about it!)

"Pass it out, sempai!" Tendo shouted to Sakuragi, and received the ball. He bounce-passed the ball to Mikage, who was behind the three-pointer line. He jumped and shot, and the ball went in beautifully.

Daiei Gakuen's ball, Tsuchiya caught it, and was immediately guarded by Rukawa. With a quick spin, Tsuchiya eluded Rukawa and passed the ball to Kishino, who did a fake and drove past Tendo towards the basket. Sakuragi jumped up to stop him, but Kishino passed the ball to Yanada, who then dunked.

Shohoku's ball, Mikage threw the ball at Sakuragi, who quickly did a long pass to Miyagi at the other side of the court. Miyagi prepared to shoot, and Tsujitani moved to block him, but it was a fake, and Miyagi passed to Rukawa, who had already jumped up and shot as soon as he caught the ball. It went in, and the score was 43-38.

"Not bad," Tsuchiya commented, as he jogged past Rukawa.

Rukawa narrowed his eyes at Daiei's captain, who was smiling at him. _Not bad? Is that all you can say, not bad? I'll show you 'not bad'._

He caught the ball that was thrown to him by Miyagi, who had stolen the ball from Tsujitani earlier. He dribbled the ball slowly behind him, facing Tsuchiya, when all of a sudden, he charged forward, forcing his way through. Tsuchiya held his ground, and Rukawa would have been called for a foul, had he not change tactic at the last minute and back-passed to Mikage, who was behind him.

Mikage jumped up to shoot, and didn't see Tanaka, who was behind him and jumped up to smack the ball away. The ball was about to fly into the hands of Kishino, when Tendo interrupted the ball and sent it flying in another direction, this time into Sakuragi's hands.

With a roar, Sakuragi charged towards the basket, getting ready to dunk, but when Yanada reached the basket, he realised that Sakuragi had stopped moving forward and was jumping up to shoot. Without anybody marking him, Sakuragi scored easily, bringing the score to 45-38.

He grinned smugly at Yanada, who smiled. "You've improved a lot from the last time I saw you."

Sakuragi smirked. "Oh? So you have seen this Tensai in action before? It won't be of any use, though, because I'm still going to beat you."

Another 10 minutes later, the first-half of the game ended with the score of 55-50.

---

In the locker room...

Hanayuki approached Rukawa, who was sitting in a corner, drinking from his bottle. "Kaede."

He looked up at her, and she sat down beside him. "So how did you find Tsuchiya Jun?"

Rukawa shrugged, before taking another gulp of water.

"You know, I don't think he's fully shown his abilities yet. I want you to be extra careful around him later in the second-half, ok?" said Hanayuki.

Rukawa nodded his head. "I will."

Hanayuki smiled, and continued, "You did a great job so far. Now if only you and oniichan had worked together from the start, I think Tsuchiya would have displayed his true abilities already."

Rukawa shrugged again, and for the rest of the halftime break, they shared a stretch of companionable silence, until it was time to enter the court again.

---

In the audience stand...

"So far so good," said Kogure. He turned to Mitsui, who was sitting beside him. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah. They played pretty well," Mitsui answered.

"Daiei Gakuen was among the top 8 teams last year. They shouldn't be easy to handle, but it seems that those guys have everything under control," commented Akagi.

"They now hold the title of the best team in Kanagawa. Of course they have things under control," said Kogure. He looked around the audience stand. "Plus, with so many people cheering for them, it's hard not to have things under control."

"That's one of the advantages when you're the home team. Heh, too bad last year's National Championships weren't held here in Kanagawa like this year," said Mitsui.

"Where's Fujima, by the way?" asked Akagi.

"He's watching Ryonan's game. Sendoh was complaining that nobody was going to cheer for him, so Fujima decided to shut his mouth and be there. I think he took Aoi-chan with him too," said Mitsui.

---

At the other stadium in another area of Kanagawa...

"Aki-touchan!!! Ganbatte!!!" Aoi-chan shouted at the top of her lungs.

It was practically drowned out by the cheers of the other older and bigger spectators, but you don't hear a 3-year-old screaming your name everyday, which was why Sendoh managed to pick it up from amongst all the noise.

He couldn't turn to look at her, but he smiled to himself, and his opponent, who was guarding him, gulped.

---

Back in the first stadium...

The tip-off was won by Sakuragi, but instead of landing in the hands of a Shohoku player, it went to Tsuchiya. Without wasting time, he charged towards Shohoku's basket, eluding Tendo in the process and scoring the first two points for his team in the second-half.

From then on, the Daiei Gakuen team played like they had never played before. Somehow, in the eyes of the audience, they became much faster, more skilful, and much stronger than they had been in the first-half, especially the captain, Tsuchiya.

Rukawa found that Tsuchiya was becoming increasingly hard to handle. _Not to mention increasingly irritating, _thought Rukawa, as he watched Tsuchiya carefully, the latter dribbling the ball and moving forward slowly. _As if that is not enough, he's reminding me of that baka Sendoh!_

Indeed, Tsuchiya's playing style was not unlike Sendoh's. His beautiful passes, his uncanny ability to find an available team-mate anytime anywhere; even though Tsuchiya wasn't the point guard of his team, he could easily fit into that role whenever it suited him, just like Sendoh.

In just 5 minutes, the whole situation had reversed itself, with Daiei Gakuen in the lead by 6 points. The Shohoku bench began to panic.

"How can this be? I mean, how come their playing seems to have improved so much?" Yasuda asked frantically.

"They didn't. This is how they really are," Hanayuki answered.

"What do you mean, Yuki-san?" asked Ichiro.

"This is how Daiei Gakuen really is. They are not as weak as they seem to be. They just took longer to warm up, that's all," Hanayuki explained.

"It doesn't matter. We will win no matter what," said Haruko, confidently. Ichiro nodded his head in agreement.

On the court, Tsuchiya scored another 2 points for his team, making the score 55-63.

"Kuso! How come this is happening?" Sakuragi cursed under his breath.

"Do'aho."

Sakuragi whipped his head around to see Rukawa standing behind him.

"Nani yo, kitsune?"

"It is time."

"Time for what? Oi, kitsune! Time for- oh..." Sakuragi's eyes glinted almost maliciously. "You're right, kitsune. It _is _time."

"Do'aho."

Sakuragi was too busy laughing to bother to rebut. "Nyahahahaha! It is time for this Tensai to show his true skills! Nyahahahaha!"

Shohoku's offense, and Miyagi was having the ball. Seeing that Sakuragi was unmarked, he passed to him, only to have the ball interrupted by Yanada, who was about to pass to Tsuchiya, when to his horror and amazement, Sakuragi appeared out of nowhere and interrupted the ball.

The redhead swiftly passed to Rukawa, who was already at the front of the court, along with the others. Tsuchiya was also at the front of the court, ready to stop Rukawa from advancing any further, but before he could even try stealing the ball, Rukawa back-passed to Sakuragi and got past Tsuchiya. Once he was out in the open, he received the ball again from Sakuragi and jumped up to shoot. The ball went in, and the score became 55-63.

Daiei Gakuen's offense, Tsuchiya passed to Tsujitani, who took advantage of Miyagi's rather short stature and threw the ball above the latter's head to Kishino. Kishino raced down the court, with Tendo hot in pursuit. Stopping before the three-pointer line, Kishino faked a shot, but Tendo saw through it and knocked the ball out of his hands.

Rukawa ran after the ball and caught it before it went out of bounds. When he turned around, he found himself trapped by Tsuchiya and Tanaka. In an attempt to break free, he did a crossover-dribble, distracting the two Daiei Gakuen players and passed the ball out.

Mikage received the ball and was instantly on the go for a fast break. He was about to shoot when Yanada appeared in front him, making a swipe at the ball. Mikage got the ball out of his reach just in time and threw it to Sakuragi, who jumped up, caught the ball in one hand, and dunked.

"Yosh!" he shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

"Sakuragi-kun really is unstoppable!" Haruko said excitedly.

"And Rukawa-san too," Ichiro added, as Rukawa stole the ball from Tsuchiya and raced down the court, followed closely by Sakuragi.

"Together, they're the Powerful Duo of Shohoku," said Ayako.

"Hohoho!"

Meanwhile, Sakuragi was facing Yanada, who was having the ball.

"Hey, redhead," Yanada called to Sakuragi.

Sakuragi narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"I'm definitely going to score this time. You can count on that."

Smirking, Sakuragi replied, "Yeah, over my dead body."

Yanada smirked back, and in a flash, drove past Sakuragi. He jumped up to shoot, and Sakuragi jumped up as well, but it was a fake, and Yanada drove past Sakuragi again. This time, he charged towards the basket, only to stop when Sakuragi caught up with him, and made a move to shoot. Once more, Sakuragi jumped up to stop him, but just like before, it was a fake.

"Chikusho!!!" Sakuragi shouted furiously.

_I told you I'm definitely going to score this time, _Yanada thought, as he jumped up the second time to shoot.

"I said, over my dead body!!!" yelled Sakuragi at the top of his lungs.

As the ball left Yanada's hands, Sakuragi leaped up for the third time and managed to graze the ball a little with the tip of his fingers. Landing on the ground, he quickly ran towards the basket, ready to catch the rebound.

And caught it he did, beating 2 other Daiei Gakuen players to the ball. He passed the ball to a waiting Rukawa, who immediately jumped into action, running down the court for a fast break. Needless to say, Tsuchiya was there to try and stop him.

_I will not lose to Sendoh, and I certainly will not lose to you! _

With that thought in his mind, he forcefully forced his way past Tsuchiya, barely managing to keep from fouling, jumped up, and passed it to Sakuragi behind him, who jumped up to shoot. The score was 59-63.

As Tsuchiya and Yanada watched in mixed awe and fury, Sakuragi and Rukawa exchanged a high-five, much to the surprise of those who knew them and were watching the game.

"We're going to win this, kitsune," said Sakuragi, panting slightly.

"Do'aho. That's a given," Rukawa replied, glancing at the scoreboard.

Daiei Gakuen's ball, Kishino passed to Tsujitani, who was immediately marked by Miyagi. Unable to get past him, Tsujitani threw the ball above his head to Tsuchiya, who was being guarded tightly by Rukawa himself.

Undaunted, he took his time, slowly dribbling the ball while trying to find a hole in Rukawa's defense.

"Tsuchiya!" Tanaka shouted to his team-mate, gesturing for the ball to be passed to him.

Turning a fraction, Tsuchiya made a show of passing to Tanaka and passed to Kishino instead, who was unmarked. Kishino quickly raced down the court with the ball, followed by his other team-mates and the Shohoku players.

Before he could reach the basket, however, Sakuragi and Miyagi were already back to defend, rendering the Daiei Gakuen player shocked and at lost of what to do. Taking advantage of his momentary confusion, Tendo stole the ball from him and raced back to the other side of the court.

When Tanaka tried to stop him, he bounce-passed the ball to Mikage, who was already getting ready behind the three-point shot. The ball left his hands in one swift movement and landed in the basket. Shohoku was now just 1 point behind Daiei Gakuen, and there were 10 minutes left in the game.

Daiei Gakuen then requested for a timeout, and the players from both teams took the opportunity to take a breather.

"Nice work, oniichan," Hanayuki complimented, giving him a high-five.

"Nyahahahaha! Of course, Hana-chan. Of course."

She turned to Rukawa. "And you too Kaede."

"Hn."

Hanayuki smiled at his lack of response. _Still the same old Kaede, but at least he's warming up to oniichan. And Kenji and Aki too. And they him. _

Rukawa noticed her staring at him. "What?" he asked.

Hanayuki shook her head. "Nothing."

Rukawa raised an eyebrow.

"Just thinking about Aki and his game," said Hanayuki.

As expected, Rukawa frowned at her answer.

"What?" she asked innocently, fighting back the urge to laugh.

Rukawa narrowed his eyes. "You're trying not to laugh."

Hanayuki blinked at him, still trying not to laugh. "Whatever do you mean by that Kaede?"

Rukawa didn't say anything. When timeout was over, he stood up, but instead of heading onto the court, he approached Hanayuki and gave her a quick peck on the forehead.

"We'll go see him after this," he said in a barely audible voice, before entering the court.

Hanayuki was a little taken aback by his actions, but broke into a soft smile nevertheless.

The game resumed, and Daiei Gakuen put up a big fight. However, Rukawa and Sakuragi didn't back down either, and Shohoku continued their scoring streak. It wasn't long before the gap between the scores grew wider and wider until Daiei Gakuen was lagging behind by 7 points.

Having lost so many points to Shohoku in a stretch, Daiei Gakuen was thrown into utter confusion and began to fluster, and hard as they try to catch up, they just couldn't handle the powerful duo of Shohoku that was Sakuragi and Rukawa.

In the end, they lost the game to Shohoku with the score of 81-76.

---

"Hey Kenji."

Fujima looked up to see Hanayuki smiling at him.

"Okaachan!" Aoi-chan squealed in delight and stretched out her arms, wanting to be carried, which Hanayuki did, sitting down quickly after that so as not to block the audience behind her from watching the game.

"So how's the game so far?" she asked.

Fujima nodded his head to acknowledge the people coming up behind her; Rukawa, Sakuragi, Miyagi, Ayako and the rest of the team. Mitsui, Kogure and Akagi also came.

"Not bad. Things are going fairly well for Ryonan," said Fujima.

"That's great," Hanayuki exclaimed. She looked down at Aoi-chan. "Have you been cheering hard for your Aki-touchan, Aoi-chan?"

The little girl nodded her head vigorously. "Yes I have."

Fujima laughed. "I won't be surprised if she has a sore throat tomorrow morning."

"Hmm... then we'll just have to make sure she drinks lots of water after this," said Hanayuki, stroking Aoi-chan's hair. She turned her attention to the game taking place on the court below.

"Aki-touchan!!! Ganbatte!!!" Aoi-chan shouted, and Fujima laughed again.

"She's been shouting that same thing over and over again since the game started. It would be impossible for Sendoh not to pick her out from amongst all the cheering," he said.

"Really? Well then, let's see if he can pick mine." Hanayuki placed Aoi-chan on Rukawa's lap, before taking a deep breath and placed a hand on each side of her mouth. "Aki!!! Ganbatte yo!!!"

---

Down on the court...

Sendoh's ears pricked up at the sound of Hanayuki's voice. _She's here! _

Still tied up in the game, he did a quick fake and got past his opponent, charging towards the basket before getting past yet another opponent and did a lay-up shot.

The crowd started cheering again, and Sendoh took the opportunity to look up at the audience stand, scanning the crowd for Hanayuki. It wasn't hard, since he found Sakuragi fairly easily, and he knew that the redhead would be sitting somewhere near Hanayuki, if not next to.

Hanayuki saw him looking up at them and fluttered her fingers in a little wave. Then she gave him a thumbs-up, while Aoi-chan waved at him enthusiastically. Fujima also gave him a thumbs-up. Rukawa merely nodded his head, while Sakuragi showed him his fist, indicating that if Sendoh didn't win this game, the older boy was going to get it from him.

After all, the opponent was Toyotama, and if Shohoku can handle them, Ryonan shouldn't have a problem either.

"Man, I'm so glad that I don't have to see the idiotic face of Itakura Daijirou again this year," Miyagi said hotly.

"It doesn't matter Ryota. If you see him this year, you'll just have to beat him again," said Ayako.

"Ah, hai, Aya-chan!"

"Maa, at least Minami's not around anymore," said Kogure.

"So what if he's here? This Tensai will still beat him. Of course, kitsune will have to be more careful, lest he gets another black eye from him," Sakuragi added cheekily, before laughing loudly.

Hanayuki frowned when she remembered what had happened the year before during their game with Toyotama. She glanced at Rukawa, who was also looking at her, and gave him a small smile.

"You know, I have to agree with Kogure-san on that," she said, looking at Sakuragi. "Kenji told me that the last time Shoyo played against Toyotama, he too was knocked out by Minami. Only difference is he was knocked out permanently, causing them to lose the game. Isn't that right, Kenji?"

"That's right. I really felt like killing the guy after the game," said Fujima.

"That's terrible," Haruko exclaimed.

"Good thing Rukawa here could still play," said Ayako, patting her nonchalant-looking junior on the back.

"Che. Big deal, Ayako-san. If it had been this Tensai who was hit, I could have continued playing straightaway," bragged Sakuragi.

"Do'aho."

"Anyway, I'm just glad that he's not around anymore," Hanayuki interrupted, before a full-scale argument, or worse, a full-scale fight, broke out between the two sophomores.

They continued watching the game, until 15 minutes later, the final whistle blew, and Ryonan won the game with the score of 98-92.

---

"Aki-touchan!" Aoi-chan ran up to Sendoh, who laughed and crouched down with his arms outstretched. However, before Aoi-chan could reach him, Rukawa scooped her up, much to the chagrin of Sendoh.

"Rukawa, what do you think you're doing?" Sendoh demanded.

Rukawa looked at him nonchalantly. "You're covered in sweat."

"So?"

"So I won't let you hug Aoi-chan and make her dirty too."

Sendoh opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out.

"Alright, that's enough," said Hanayuki, stepping in and taking Aoi-chan from Rukawa.

"Good job, Sendoh," said Fujima, patting the latter on the shoulder.

Sendoh took his eyes off Rukawa for a moment to look at Fujima and gave him a big smile. "Thanks."

"Aren't you going to join your team-mates? I think they're getting ready to leave," Miyagi pointed out.

"They are?" Sendoh whipped his head around to have a look. "Oh, they are."

"So aren't you going too?" asked Ayako.

"That would depend on whether Aoi-chan wants me to go. Do you Aoi-chan?" Sendoh asked the girl, who quickly shook her head.

Sendoh beamed happily, but the smile froze on his face when Sakuragi pointed to something behind him and said, "Aoi-chan may not want you to go, but I know someone who does, and he's standing right there and glaring at all of us."

Bracing himself, Sendoh turned around slowly to find Taoka-sensei giving him the ultimate I-Am-Going-To-Kill-You look. Despite the distance between them, he could feel the enormous amount of heat emanating from the middle-aged man's body. Even if he couldn't feel it, he wouldn't have missed the steam rising from Taoka-sensei's head.

"Okay I had better get going." He planted a kiss on Aoi-chan's forehead before bounding off in a hurry. "I'll see you later Aoi-chan!"

"Bye-bye, Aki-touchan!" Aoi-chan cried.

Hanayuki adjusted her hold on Aoi-chan and waved. "Ki o tsukete, Aki." (Translation: Take care of yourself, Aki.)

Aki waved back, almost banging into the wall in the process, since he wasn't looking where he was going. Then, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, he joined his team-mates and left the stadium.

As soon as he was gone from their sight, Fujima turned to Hanayuki and said, "How about I send you and Aoi-chan home now, Yuki? Or do you have anywhere else to go?"

"Well..." Hanayuki hesitated for a while.

"Ne, okaachan, I want to go to the playground," Aoi-chan piped up.

Hanayuki looked at her and then at Fujima, who shrugged. "It's your call."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Hanayuki sighed and smiled at Aoi-chan. "Ok. Let's go to the playground."

"Yay!!!"

"I'll drive us there then. What about you guys?" Fujima asked the others, mainly Sakuragi and Rukawa.

"We'll be heading back to school and practise," said Miyagi, Ayako nodding her head beside him. "All of us," he emphasised, looking sideways at Sakuragi and Rukawa.

"What are you looking at Ryochin?" Sakuragi demanded.

"He's obviously looking at you, do'aho," Rukawa said.

"And you, kitsune. Or are those kitsune eyes of yours blind?" Sakuragi retorted.

"Ahem."

Both of them looked at Hanayuki, who gave them each a pointed look. "Train well. I'll see you guys tomorrow." To Aoi-chan, she said, "Aoi-chan, say your goodbyes."

"Goodbye, Hana-jiichan. Goodbye Kaede-touchan. Goodbye oniichans and onnechans."

"Goodbye Aoi-chan. Be a good girl and listen to your okaachan, alright?" said Sakuragi.

"Aoi-chan is always a good girl," the little girl said, prompting everyone to laugh.

"Alright, let's go," said Fujima. "The car's outside."

---

Outside the stadium, in a black limousine parked across the street...

"Sir, that's them over there."

"Hmm... yes that's her alright. I see she has that little girl of hers with her. And what's this? Who's the guy with light brown hair?"

"I don't know sir, but he looks familiar."

"Yes, he does. In fact, I think I've seen him before."

"What do we do now, sir?"

"Well, I'm very curious to know what the son of one of Kanagawa's business tycoons is doing with that girl. I guess we'll have to follow them to find out, don't you think?"

"Yes sir."

---

Author's notes: Slump, slump, slump. I'm so dead. I mean, I'll be leaving my home country soon to study somewhere else. I'll probably start getting busy, and I haven't prepared the next few chapters yet. Not even a draft. Argh!!! Dang!!! Thank you to deathsoul-shinigami and kiku for reviewing. Thanks to the others for reading.


	13. The party

**Chapter 13: The party**

During the course of the next few days, Shohoku went on to play against Takamizawa from Hokkaido (100-88), Sansho from Aomori (98-90), and Rakuan from Kyoto (90-86) to reach the semi-finals of the National Tournament. The other 3 teams which had also made it into the semi-finals were Aiwa from Aichi, Sannoh from Akita and Meihou Kogyou also from Aichi.

6 days into the tournament, Shohoku found themselves presented with the opportunity to exact revenge on their old nemesis, Aiwa. And they weren't going to let the opportunity slip pass so easily.

---

"Nyahahahahaha! Now they know what we're really made of! Nyahahahahaha!"

"I can't believe it! Sakuragi-kun, we're in the finals! We're in the finals!" Haruko squealed.

"Nyahahahahaha! Yes, Haruko-san. The Tensai has led the team to the finals! Nyahahahahaha!" Sakuragi bragged loudly.

Behind him, Rukawa snorted, and less than half a minute later, a scuffle erupted between the two team-mates.

"Stop it you two!" Ayako scolded, waving her fan in the air threateningly.

"Aya-chan's right. Stop all this nonsense at once or I'll refuse to let you play tomorrow," Miyagi threatened.

Sakuragi and Rukawa stopped strangling each other and looked at Miyagi, before Rukawa snorted and Sakuragi started laughing.

"Nyahahahahaha! Ryochin, you can do that to the kitsune, but not me. You can't afford to lose the Tensai."

"He can, and if he can't, I can."

Sakuragi whirled around to find his sister looking at him. "Hana-chan, you don't mean that."

Hanayuki smiled sweetly at her brother. "You want to give it a try?"

"No!"

"Of course you don't. I'm sure Kaede doesn't either, do you Kaede?" Hanayuki asked, looking expectantly at Rukawa.

"Yuki-chan, aren't you supposed to go home and get yourself ready for something?" Ichiro asked.

"Oh yes. I'm about to get going now," Hanayuki replied.

"Get going for what, Hana-chan?" Sakuragi asked.

"I'm accompanying Kenji to his family company's 50th anniversary party. I told you about it the day before yesterday, when Kenji asked me," Hanayuki reminded.

Sakuragi looked at her incredulously. "You're actually going?"

Hanayuki raised an eyebrow. "Yes. And what's wrong with that?"

"I remember you telling me that he wanted you to pose as his girlfriend, to prevent his parents from finding him one, that's what's wrong."

"He needs help, and as a friend, I'm going to give it to him. There's nothing wrong with that," Hanayuki argued.

"But, what about Rukawa? You know how possessive he can be," asked Sakuragi, pointing a finger at Rukawa.

"Kaede knows about it like you do, and he has never objected to it. In fact, I don't hear him saying anything about it now," said Hanayuki, folding her arms.

Sakuragi opened his mouth, and closed them again. He turned to Rukawa. "Oi, Rukawa! Say something will you? Hana-chan's about to pose as Fujima's girlfriend and you're not going to do anything about it?"

Rukawa merely looked back at him nonchalantly and said, "No." _Not in front of you or the others anyway, _he added silently to himself.

"Nani?!"

"Remember what I said, oniichan. I can not let you play tomorrow, and I will if you don't stop making such a fuss over such a small thing," Hanayuki threatened.

Sakuragi sulked, but he kept quiet. Hanayuki regarded him for a moment before saying, "Go home and rest well, oniichan. You're right. We cannot afford not to let you play tomorrow." She smiled at him, before continuing, "You're too important."

Almost immediately, Sakuragi's demeanour changed and he laughed loudly. "Nyahahahahaha! I knew it! I'm the Tensai after all. Nyahahahahaha!"

While the rest sweatdropped or shook their heads, Hanayuki laughed along with Sakuragi, before finally taking her leave.

At the entrance, Rukawa caught up to her and pulled her aside.

"Kaede?"

"You're only pretending to be his girlfriend," he said. "Don't let him think it's for real."

Hanayuki refrained from rolling her eyes. "Yes, Kaede. I won't let him think it's real. There. Are you happy?"

Rukawa didn't answer, but he kissed her on the forehead, which he had been doing more frequently ever since that time during the game with Daiei Gakuen.

"Where is Aoi-chan?" he asked.

"At home with okaasan. Why do you ask?"

"How is she doing? Did she not ask why she isn't staying at Fujima's house anymore?"

"Well, no, because I told her that it's now my turn to stay with her. I can't tell her that she couldn't stay at Kenji's place anymore because his parents are back from America. She wouldn't understand why her... 'grandparents'... wouldn't like her or want to have her around."

Rukawa frowned at the word 'grandparents'. "Don't use that word."

Hanayuki sighed. "It is only a manner of speaking, Kaede. A way of putting it."

"I still don't like it."

"Fine," Hanayuki replied, giving up trying to argue. "I have to go now. I need to look my best for tonight. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Rukawa nodded his head slightly, and Hanayuki began to walk off.

"Yuki?"

Hanayuki turned around. "Yes?"

"Don't look too good."

---

That night, in a five-star hotel somewhere in Kanagawa...

_I'm so bored..._

Hanayuki stifled a yawn and tried to look as if she was having the time of her life at the party. All around her, people were milling around, dressed in their most expensive evening wear, talking and laughing at each other's corporate jokes, drinking from elegant-looking champagne glasses half-filled with the finest champagne available.

Hanayuki blinked and stifled yet another yawn. _Why did I agree to come to this business party again? _

She looked at Fujima, who was standing with his parents at one corner of the spacious ballroom, chatting with some of his father's business partners. Anyone, save the old and bald businessmen standing in front of him, could see that Fujima's smile was as fake as a statue's and as bland as steamed cabbage.

(A/n: Anou... if there is something that is blander than steamed cabbage, please drop me a line or something.)

The smile plastered on Fujima's face grew wider. And Hanayuki suddenly remembered why she was there in the first place.

-Flashback-

"Stop fidgeting, Yuki. You're making me nervous, moving around like that," said Fujima.

"I can't help it. I don't feel comfortable in this dress," Hanayuki replied, tugging at the white sleeveless gown she was wearing. "And I don't feel comfortable going to this... thing. Never mind that your parents had so graciously invited me to come along."

"Please Yuki. Just this once. You know very well that there could only be one reason why they had insisted that I follow them to this party," Fujima begged.

"So they're trying to find you a girlfriend. What's the big deal?" said Hanayuki, not looking up from her dress as she pulled at the straps.

"What's the big deal? The big deal is I don't want them to find a girlfriend for me. I want to find a girlfriend on my own," said Fujima indignantly.

Hanayuki looked up momentarily, before looking down at her dress again. "Well, I guess you have a point there."

"Of course I have a point. That is why you agreed to help me in the first place, isn't it?" When Hanayuki didn't answer the question, Fujima eyed her worriedly. "You're not going to back out on me now, are you?"

Hanayuki stopped fingering the straps of her dress and looked at Fujima. "Don't worry," she assured him. "I won't. In fact, I'm going to be so stuck on you tonight you'll be wishing that you hadn't asked me for this favour."

Fujima's face brightened up immediately. "Thank you, Yuki. I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart."

"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for you, after all that you've done for me." She playfully punched him on the shoulder and continued, "Come on then. Let's go and play boyfriend-girlfriend shall we?"

-End of flashback-

_Right. I agreed to come as Kenji's partner so that his parents will stop introducing girls to him, _she thought, as she watched one of the bald old men introduce his daughter to Fujima. _Guess the plan's not really working... _

Feeling another yawn coming up, she covered her mouth to stifle it. Then, she settled down on a nearby armchair and watched as some of the guests danced on the dance floor.

She smiled to herself. She had danced with Fujima earlier that night to the famous waltz 'The Beautiful Blue Danube', and although she wasn't as good as Fujima himself, she had reason to be proud of herself; not once did she stumble or make a mistake during the dance which had lasted for 10 minutes. (A/n: The Beautiful Blue Danube is composed by Johann Strauss.)

After all, Fujima didn't spend all those nights with Hanayuki in the music lounge, teaching her how to dance and suffer all those bruised and swollen toes, for nothing.

"Feeling bored, my dear?"

Hanayuki looked up, and felt her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Surprised to see me? Well, you should be. To tell you the truth, I'm not too surprised myself, since I think I know the reason why you're here, or rather, the person whom you're here with."

Feeling the dread which was quickly building up inside of her, Hanayuki curved her lips into a small smile. "Rukawa-san," she acknowledged.

Mr Rukawa smiled at her, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I can see that you're bored out of your mind. Would you care to have a dance with me then? I saw you dancing with Fujima Kenji a while ago. You danced pretty well to 'The Beautiful Blue Danube', which, in my opinion, is a fairly difficult waltz to dance to. It would be an honour to be able to dance with you." He extended a hand to Hanayuki, his eyes trained on her as she struggled to come up with an answer.

After a long pause, Hanayuki hesitatingly took the extended hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. As if on cue, the orchestra began to play 'Voices of Spring'. (A/n: Voices of Spring is also composed by Johann Strauss.)

"Ah, this is an easy one. I should be able to keep up with your younger bones," said Mr Rukawa, as he began to swing Hanayuki around the dance floor in time with the song.

---

Fujima was about to fall asleep out of boredom when he caught sight of a lady in a white gown heading towards the dance floor with a man in black from the corner of his eyes.

_What the-? Isn't that Hanayuki? And who is that man she's with? In fact, how OLD is he?! He can't be younger than 40, what with all that grey hair on his head! _

---

Throughout the dance, Hanayuki avoided looking at Mr Rukawa in the eye. She had always felt uncomfortable whenever Mr Rukawa was around, and dancing with him wasn't helping things at all.

Meanwhile, Mr Rukawa kept on talking as they danced.

"You know, it hadn't been that long since the last time we met, and I see that you've grown taller," he said.

Hanayuki gave him a tiny smile in response.

"Kaede has grown taller too. Have you noticed?"

"It's hard not to, since we're studying in the same school and involved in the same sport," Hanayuki answered, still not looking at him in the eye.

"Indeed. I just thought that since you have found yourself a new target, perhaps you wouldn't have time to notice my Kaede anymore."

Hanayuki looked up at him. "What are you talking about, Rukawa-san?" she asked softly, the demanding tone in her voice unmistakable.

Mr Rukawa raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Why, I'm talking about you and your new _friend _of course, Hanayuki-san. Fujima Kenji, son of Fujima Shinji, CEO of the world-renowned Midori World Enterprise."

Hanayuki frowned at the statement. "Kenji is a ver-"

"Yes, he is very good-looking, isn't he? Not the tall, dark and handsome kind, but good-looking nevertheless, and taller than you, though not much. Oh, and not to mention that he's rich too."

"Rukawa-san-"

"I wonder if his parents know about little Aoi-chan? Hmm, she may serve as a problem, you know. After all, given the choice, I don't think that Fujima Shinji would want a daughter-in-law who gave birth to a daughter of her own at the tender age of 13."

Hanayuki tried to pull away, but Mr Rukawa wouldn't let her go and held on to her tighter than before. "I did not give birth to Aoi-chan by my own choice, Rukawa-san. Did your private investigators not tell you that?" she said coldly through gritted teeth.

"That doesn't erase the fact that you have a 3-year-old daughter at 16." His eyes narrowed, before he continued, "Nor does it change the fact that you're a gold-digger."

It took all of Hanayuki's inner strength to stop herself from slapping Mr Rukawa across the face. However, she did forcefully push him away, and said, "I'm not a gold-digger, Rukawa-san. But arguing with you about that will only waste my time, so I won't. I didn't enjoy the dance, so I won't thank you. In fact, I would appreciate it if you would just leave me alone for the rest of the night. No, for the rest of my life."

With that, she turned on her heels and walked off, leaving a slightly humiliated Mr Rukawa standing alone on the dance floor.

---

_That man looks strangely familiar. Where have I seen his face before?_Fujima wondered to himself.

When he saw Hanayuki pushing the man away and walking off, he was immediately concerned. Just as he was about to go after her, he realised that he didn't have to. She was already coming his way.

"Yuki? What's wrong? Who's that man you were dancing with just now?" asked Fujima, one question after another.

Instead of answering his questions, Hanayuki pulled at his hand and said, "I'm not feeling too well, Kenji. Can you please send me home now?"

"You're not feeling well? Shall I take you to a doctor then?"

"No, it's not necessary. I just want to go home, that's all. Please," Hanayuki said, her voice pleading.

"Ok. I'll just go tell my parents first alright?"

"Tell us what, Kenji?" came a voice from behind.

It was Mrs Fujima. She smiled at Hanayuki, whom Kenji had introduced to her and his father earlier. Hanayuki smiled back, albeit a little unnaturally.

"Are you feeling alright, Hanayuki my dear? You look pale," noted Mrs Fujima.

"Thank you for your concern, Fujima-san. I'm feeling fine," Hanayuki replied.

"Are you sure?" asked Mrs Fujima.

Hanayuki nodded in answer.

"Is everything alright, Noriko?" asked Mr Fujima, who suddenly materialized beside his wife. Behind him, to Hanayuki's utter horror, was none other than Mr Rukawa himself.

"This is Mr Rukawa Aoshi, Kenji. He was an old school mate of mine, and we have been having some business connections with each other for many years now," introduced Mr Fujima.

Comprehension and apprehension dawned upon Fujima. _So he's Rukawa's father. Man, can things get any worse than this?_

"Anyway, as I was asking, is anything wrong?" Mr Fujima repeated his earlier question.

"Oh, it's nothing dear. It's just that Hanayuki here isn't feeling well and would like to go home," Mrs Fujima answered her husband.

"Not feeling well? It's nothing serious I hope," said Mr Fujima, concern displayed on his face.

"Of course it's nothing serious, Shinji my friend," Mr Rukawa cut in smoothly. "She's probably just feeling nervous that things will go wrong for her, aren't you, Hanayuki-san?"

"You know her, Aoshi?" Mr Fujima asked, surprised.

"Oh I know her alright. I know all about her and little Aoi-chan."

At the mention of Aoi-chan, Fujima knew that he had to do something quick before things get out of hand.

"Okaasan, otousan, if you'll excuse me, I'll send Hanayuki hom-"

"Now don't be hasty, Kenji my boy," Mr Rukawa interrupted. "I'm sure your father and mother would like to know more about dear little Aoi-chan."

"Aoi-chan? Who's Aoi-chan?" Mr Fujima asked.

"Mr Rukawa, you-"

"Kenji, don't be rude. Mr Rukawa is trying to talk here," Mrs Fujima reprimanded her son.

"It's alright, Fujima-san. He's still young. Young people tend to be very... hasty," said Mr Rukawa, looking at Fujima pointedly.

"Hasty or not, he shouldn't have been so rude," said Mrs Fujima, glancing at her son before continuing, "Anyway, Rukawa-san, who's this Aoi-chan you're talking about?"

"Ah, I think you had better ask Hanayuki-san about that one, Fujima-san. I'm sure she would be able to answer the question better than I do, right my dear?" said Mr Rukawa. He looked at Hanayuki, who, instead of avoiding his gaze, returned it squarely this time.

"Then watch me carefully, Rukawa-san, as I answer the question," she said softly.

"I certainly will," came the reply.

Hanayuki held his gaze for a little longer, before turning to face the Fujimas. Bracing herself for the worst, she took a deep breath and said, "Aoi-chan is my daughter."

A gasp escaped from Mrs Fujima's mouth, while Mr Fujima frowned deeply.

"I'm so sorry, Mr and Mrs Fujima, for not telling you about this," said Hanayuki, her face etched with sorrow and regret. "I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just that... it's just that..."

Unable to go on, Hanayuki decided to skip the explaining and go straight to the important part. "You don't have to worry about anything, Mr and Mrs Fujima. I'm not Kenji's girlfriend, so you don't have to worry about me tarnishing the family name."

When neither Mr Fujima nor Mrs Fujima said anything, Hanayuki bowed again, and said, "I'm truly sorry for everything. I'll take my leave now."

"Yuki-" Fujima began.

Hanayuki shook her head to stop him. Then, smiling slightly, she said, "It's ok, Kenji. I'm fine. Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry that things turned out this way."

She wasn't even two steps away when Mr Fujima finally spoke. "Where do you think you're going, Hanayuki-san?"

Hanayuki stopped in her tracks and turned around. "I... I'm leaving the party, Fujima-san," she answered hesitatingly.

"Whatever for?"

Hanayuki was rendered speechless by the question.

Fujima tried to intervene. "Otousan-"

Mr Fujima looked at his son. "Keep quiet, Kenji. I'm very disappointed in you. How could you not tell us about this? We're your parents. We have the right to know everything about you."

"Your father's right, Kenji. You should have told us about Hanayuki and Aoi-chan," said Mrs Fujima.

"I'm sorry okaasan. It's just that..." Fujima trailed off.

"You didn't think that we would understand did you?" Mrs Fujima prompted gently.

"Would you?" Fujima asked.

Mr and Mrs Fujima exchanged a look between them, before Mr Fujima approached his son and smacked him lightly on the back of his head.

"What do you take me and your mother for? Conservative and unreasonable old folks? Of course we'd understand!"

Fujima couldn't believe what he was hearing. Neither could Hanayuki, least of all Mr Rukawa, who had been wearing a self-satisfied smile on his face all this while.

"Did I hear you wrongly, otousan?" Fujima asked in disbelief.

"No you didn't, Kenji darling," said Mrs Fujima, smiling. "And you didn't either, Hanayuki my dear."

"But... but..." Hanayuki stammered.

"So you have a three-year-old daughter. It's not common, I must admit, but it's not uncommon either. We should know, since we've stayed in the US for some time," said Mrs Fujima.

"That's right. You don't have to be ashamed of it, Hanayuki-san. I mean, I'm sure you didn't mean for things to happen this way. Even if you did, I'm sure you've repented," said Mr Fujima, before adding, "Have you?"

Hanayuki just stared at him, wondering if she should start crying or laughing.

Mr Fujima held up a hand. "No need to answer. I believe in you."

"Are you out of your mind, Shinji?!" Mr Rukawa burst out.

"Now, now, Aoshi. There's no need to be so worked up about it. Honestly, I don't see any reason to look down on the girl," said Mr Fujima.

"What the hell?!"

A few socialites and businessmen turned to look at him, having heard his rather loud outburst.

"Please, Rukawa-san. We're in the middle of a party right now. You don't want to attract any unfavourable attention to yourself, do you?" said Mrs Fujima.

Ignoring the angry look on Mr Rukawa's face, she walked up to Hanayuki and linked their arms together. "Now darling, tell me. What you said about your not being Kenji's girlfriend, is that true?"

Hanayuki blinked at her. "Um..."

"It's true, okaasan. Yuki's not my girlfriend. I asked her to pretend to be my girlfriend so that you and otousan wouldn't try to find me one," Fujima confessed.

"Oh. That's too bad. I really like her," said Mrs Fujima, looking rather disappointed.

"Me too," Mr Fujima agreed heartily.

"You do? Well, to tell you the truth, so do I," said Fujima, earning himself a glare from Hanayuki. "But I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it. Yuki already has a boyfriend," he continued.

"Oh? Who is the lucky guy?" Mr Fujima asked.

Fujima glanced at Hanayuki, whose eyes pleaded with him not to tell them who it was. Unfortunately for her, Fujima decided to tell anyway.

"It's Rukawa Kaede, otousan." He looked at Mr Rukawa, and with a pointed look, added, "Mr Rukawa's son."

To Fujima's satisfaction, Mr Rukawa looked as if he had been slapped in the face.

"Well, what do you know, Aoshi? Hanayuki-san's your future daughter-in-law," Mr Fujima exclaimed, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Mr Rukawa recovered from the shock he was feeling and pushed the hand away. "No she isn't," he growled. "She will never be a member of the Rukawa family, not even over my dead body."

With one last look at Hanayuki, he stalked away from the four people and left the party.

"Hmm, after all this years, he is still haunted by his past," Mr Fujima mumbled to himself, shaking his head at the same time.

"What past, otousan?" Fujima asked.

At first, Mr Fujima was reluctant to say anything further, but after much pressuring from Fujima, he finally gave in and poured out the story.

"It concerns his wife, or more accurately, his ex-wife," he began. "You see, she already has a child of her own when she met Aoshi, a 2-year-old daughter from a previous boyfriend who dumped her as soon as she became pregnant. Despite that, Aoshi loved her very much, and a year later, they were married. The following year, she gave birth to their only child, a son."

"Rukawa Kaede?" Fujima queried, and was rewarded with a light smack on the head.

"Like I said, they only had one child together, a son, so of course I'm referring to Rukawa Kaede. Anyway, their marriage didn't last long as Aoshi soon found out that his wife didn't marry him because she loved him, but because he was rich."

"In other words, the woman was a gold-digger," Mrs Fujima pointed out.

"He filed for divorce, but the damage has been done. Aoshi started hating women, to the extent of not hiring them to work in his company."

"You can't be serious about that," said Fujima disbelievingly. He got himself another smack on the head.

"Do I look like I'm joking to you?"

"But then how on earth did the company manage to survive?" asked Fujima. This time, he managed to avoid the oncoming smack, having tasted two in a row before that.

"I didn't say it did. It didn't, and Aoshi was forced to hire women again. He was forced to admit that there are some jobs which can only be done most efficiently by women, like secretarial jobs, for example."

"Ok. So basically he hates Yuki because he hates women?"

"Yes, but I think he hates Hanayuki-san more for having a child before marriage. It probably reminded him of his ex-wife, which is why I'm not at all surprised at the intense hatred he has for her."

"It isn't fair that he compares Yuki with his ex-wife," said Fujima, springing to Hanayuki's defense. "They're not the same person, but two very different people."

"It's going to very hard to make him see that, Kenji. The fact that his wife had never loved him must have been a very big and bad blow. Especially since he had loved her with all his heart and soul, accepting her as his wife even though she had a child with another man," Mrs Fujima reasoned.

Meanwhile, Hanayuki had remained silent throughout the whole conversation, and it didn't escape from Mr Fujima's notice. Knowing that she was probably feeling uncomfortable with the subject at hand, he changed it, asking about Aoi-chan instead.

"Hanayuki-san, I would very much like to see Aoi-chan one day. She must be a very cute and adorable child," he said, smiling at Hanayuki.

"Oh she is, otousan. The cutest you've ever seen," Fujima exclaimed excitedly.

"I can't wait to see her then," said Mrs Fujima, just as excitedly. Her arm still looped with Hanayuki's, she began to half-drag, half-steer the younger girl towards the refreshment table. "Come dear, let's go get something to drink, and then you can tell me all about Aoi-chan."

---

In another part of Kanagawa...

CRASH!

_Kuso..._

Rukawa picked himself up from amongst the dustbins he had just crashed into a moment ago, before reaching for his bicycle lying not too far away on the pavement. Without another look at the mess he had created, Rukawa climbed onto his bicycle and cycled away.

As he cycled, his thoughts wandered off, as it always did whenever he was cycling, to Hanayuki.

_I wonder how the meeting between Yuki and the Fujimas went. I wonder if they will like her. I hope they won't. I mean, I hope they _will_like Yuki. Just not like her enough to want her as their daughter-in-law. That way, they'll go on with their plan to find Fujima a girlfriend, thus eliminating him from my list of people to watch out for._

CRASH!

_Kuso..._

Picking himself up from the ground, Rukawa reached for his bicycle, and without another look at the rather badly damaged boot of the car he had just rammed into, he got on the bicycle and cycled off.

_Hopefully Sendoh's parents will do the same thing to him, and then, with both of them out of the picture, I don't have to worry my head off anymore. Not that I have anything to worry about in the first place, but still... Anyway, with them gone, Yuki and I and Aoi-chan, we can be together alone, forever._

CRASH!

_Yeah. Just the three of us._

A few more crashes later, Rukawa managed to reach home, miraculously, in one piece and uninjured. After chucking his horribly deformed but somehow still usable bicycle to the ground, he unlocked the door and walked into the house, and would've gone straight to his room upstairs had his nose not caught the heavy scent of alcohol hanging in the air as he passed by the living room, and his ears not heard the soft strains of the song 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' playing in the background.

(A/n: Had wanted to write down the lyrics at the end of this chapter, but thought that it would be too unnecessary. Do look up the lyrics, though, and you would be able to understand why I implicated the song here.)

Instinctively, Rukawa turned on the lights, and all thoughts of sleep flew away from his mind as he took in the scene before him; the few empty bottles of wine on the table; the half-filled wine glass; and his father sitting on the sofa and looking at him with a deadly look on his hardened face.

---

Author's notes: Finally! Chapter 13, done. I'm so dead. I've started a couple of fics at the same time, and now none of them seems to be progressing. It's my own fault, I know. Sigh… Updates won't be as frequent as before, or should I say, not as quick as before. Why? Well, it's not just because I have other fics to attend to. This fic will always be my first priority. It's because I'll be flying off to NZ on the 9th of February and will be starting my first semester in the University of Otago on the 20th. Once I start studying, I don't think I will have the same amount of free time as I had before to write this fic. I won't stop though, rest assured. I didn't write so much just to stop writing now. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the last chapter. I need more feedback, as I'm not sure how people are reacting to my fic so far, so please drop me a review or two or three. Thanks again.


	14. The final game

**Chapter 14: The final game**

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the final match of the National Tournament between the teams Shohoku of Kanagawa and Meihou Kogyou of Aichi. Before we begin, let us introduce the starters of each team."

"The red team, Shohoku High School. Number 4, Miyagi Ryota."

"Go for it, Miyagi-sempai!"

"I'm counting on you, Miyagi."

Ayako smiled at him and raised her hand for a high-five. "Remember what I told you, Ryota. You're the number 1 point guard in Kanagawa. So don't let us down."

Miyagi raised his hand to meet hers. "I won't, Aya-chan."

"Number 7, Rukawa Kaede."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH! RUKAWA! RUKAWA! L-O-V-E RUKAWA!"

Sakuragi cringed at the screams. "Man, kitsune, you have to do something about those fans of yours. One day, our team is going to be known not as Shohoku the Great, but Shohoku the Deaf."

"Do'aho, it's not my fault that they like to scream."

"Whatever, kitsune. Now get on the court so that they can announce my name."

Rukawa ignored him and stopped in front of Hanayuki. At first, they just looked at each other without saying a word. Both were wondering if they should tell the other about their encounter with Mr Rukawa the night before.

"Er, Rukawa-san? Hanayuki-san?" came Ichiro's voice.

Hanayuki curved her lips into a smile. "This is it, Kaede."

Rukawa kept a straight face. "We will win. I promise." He pulled her in for a hug, and before pulling away, he whispered into her ear, "Everything's going to be alright."

Hanayuki nodded her head, and he finally entered the court.

"Number 8, Sakuragi Hanamichi."

"Nyahahahahaha! All you mere mortals make way for the Tensai!"

"Sakuragi-kun, ganbatte!"

"Haruko-san, I will lead the team to victory!"

"Don't do anything stupid, Sakuragi," said Ayako smilingly.

"Ayako-san, how can you say that to the Tensai?"

"Oniichan, they're waiting for the Tensai to walk onto the court," Hanayuki intervened before Sakuragi could complain further.

After Tendo and Mikage were introduced, the umpire went on to the white team, Meihou Kogyou, which consisted of the captain Koyasu Takehito, small guard Seki Tomokazu, his twin brother, small forward Seki Tomomichi, power forward Nishimura Toshihiko, and last but not least, center Morishige Hiroshi.

Sakuragi watched as Morishige entered the court. _Finally, I have the chance to meet you in a match. _

"Oi."

Sakuragi looked to this right. "What is it, Rukawa?"

"You do realise that we will have to work together from the start."

"Che. Of course I do, you stupid kitsune," Sakuragi snorted. "Don't forget that I'm the Tensai."

"You do realise that proclaiming yourself as the Tensai isn't going to get you or the team anywhere."

Sakuragi gave him a sharp glance. "Just what do you mean by that Rukawa?"

"You do realise that pouncing on me like a cat on a mouse is going to get you kicked off from the game, thus causing the team to lose its chance at victory and the title of the National Champions."

This time, Sakuragi gave him a weird look. "What's with you today, Rukawa? You're talking much more than usual. It's giving me the creeps."

Rukawa looked away, before saying, "I promised Yuki that we're going to win this game and be crowned the National Champions. I don't want to break that promise, and I will not let anything stand in my way, even if it's Yuki's do'aho of a brother."

Sakuragi considered the answer for a moment, surprisingly letting the remark about him being a do'aho pass before nodding his head. "Ok. I guess you're right." With a sudden burst of energy, he shouted, "Yosh! Let's do it Shohoku!"

And the rest of the players shouted their agreement.

The game began, and Shohoku won the tip-off. Tendo got the ball and passed to Miyagi, who stopped in front of Koyasu. Before Miyagi could strategize his next move, the ball was stolen by Tomokazu. Fortunately, Miyagi managed to steal the ball back, and after giving Sakuragi a brief nod of the head, he threw the ball high across the air towards Meihou's basket.

Sakuragi jumped up, his right hand stretched out to catch the ball, but suddenly, out of nowhere, another hand appeared in front of Sakuragi's and intercepted the ball.

It was Miroshige.

Sakuragi quickly responded by bringing his hand down and swatting the ball away, much to Miroshige's amazement and Shohoku's relief.

Mikage caught the ball before it went out of the court and did a fake, before passing it backwards to Rukawa, who immediately jumped up and shot. Thus Shohoku took the first lead with the score of 2-0.

Meihou's ball, Koyasu passed to Tomomichi, who immediately passed to his brother. Tomokazu dribbled the ball slowly, careful not to let Mikage have any opportunity to steal the ball. He back-passed to Nishimura, who was marked by Tendo.

"Good work guys! Keep it up!" Ayako shouted from the bench.

The words were barely out of her mouth when Nishimura fooled Tendo with a fake and got past quickly, passing out the ball in the process. "Morishige!"

Morishige caught the ball turned around to find Sakuragi guarding him tightly. He saw the challenge being issued to him from Sakuragi's eyes, and with a small smile, acknowledged it. Then, he literally forced his way through, doing it with such subtlety that he actually didn't foul Sakuragi.

_Kuso! This guy is good! _Sakuragi thought grudgingly, as he tried to hold his position and stop Morishige from going any further.

Suddenly, Morishige stopped in his tracks and jumped up, his hands poised to make a shot. Sakuragi jumped up to block the shot, only to find the ball disappear. Morishige had passed the ball to Tomomichi, who scored.

Sakuragi watched as Morishige and Tomomichi exchanged a high-five. "Che," he snorted, before turning away.

The score was 2-2, and the game had only just begun.

---

10 minutes later...

"I can't believe this is happening!" Sendoh exclaimed.

Next to him, Mitsui cringed when Morishige scored yet another basket for his team. He looked at the scoreboard.

"32-50. 18 points apart," said Kogure.

"What the heck is going on? This can't be happening!" Mitsui burst out.

"Calm down, Mitsui. They are playing against Meihou Kogyou, last year's National Champion. There're bound to be some, er... complications," Kogure tried to reason.

"Che! Kogure, they only became the champions because _we_ beat Sannoh. Do you really think that if Sannoh had stayed around, they would be able to beat them?" Mitsui demanded. "Do you, huh?"

Akagi bonked him on the head. "Shut up Mitsui! You sound like a gangster," he growled.

"Man, Akagi, you've got to stop hitting people on their heads. Do you have any idea what kind of damage you could be doing to them?" Mitsui groaned, rubbing his head.

"Shush, people! I'm trying to concentrate on the game here," said Fujima, looking annoyed.

"Hai! Shush!" said Aoi-chan, her lips pouting and her hands on her hips.

Everybody burst out laughing at the little girl's antics, and for a second, the game and Shohoku's grave situation was promptly forgotten.

---

Half-time break...

"I can't believe this is happening! I can't believe this is happening! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!"

THWACK!

"Keep quiet, Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

"Yeah. Nobody asked whether or not you believe this is happening," Miyagi added gravely.

"Teme Ryochin! How dare you-"

"Hush, oniichan!" said Hanayuki, silencing her brother with a warning look on her face before clapping her hands together and said, "Alright guys. Otousan and I have been talking, and this is what we want you guys to do, so listen up if you wanna win this game."

Not a sound could be heard after that, except for Hanayuki's rather hushed-up voice.

"Hohoho!"

And Anzai-sensei's oh-so-familiar laughs.

---

10 minutes later...

"I can't believe this is happening!" Sendoh exclaimed.

Next to him, Mitsui jolted with excitement when Sakuragi slammed the ball into the basket. He looked at the scoreboard.

"65-53. 12 points apart," said Kogure.

"This is unbelievable! 30 points, 15 baskets in a row. It would've been 33, if not for that lucky three-point shot made by one of the Seki brothers. We're totally invisible!" Mitsui burst out happily.

"You mean Miyagi and the players are invisible. Anyway, calm down Mitsui. Regardless of what things may look like now, they are still playing against Meihou Kogyou, last year's National Champion. We can't be too sure or happy just yet," Kogure reasoned.

"Che! Kogure, they only became the champions because _we_ beat Sannoh. Do you really think that if Sannoh had stayed around, they would be able to beat them? And what do you mean by, regardless of what things may look like now? Are you saying that Shohoku's going to lose, even though they're currently leading by 12 points?" Mitsui demanded. "Is that what you're saying, huh?"

Akagi bonked him on the head. "Shut up Mitsui! You're sounding like a gangster again," he growled.

"Man, Akagi, for the umpteenth time, you _have got_ to stop hitting people on their heads. Do you have any idea what kind of damage you could be doing to them?" Mitsui groaned, rubbing his head.

"Shush, people! I'm trying to concentrate on the game here," said Fujima, looking annoyed.

"Hai! Shush!" said Aoi-chan, her lips pouting and her hands on her hips.

Everybody burst out laughing at the little girl's antics, and for another second, the game and Shohoku's favourable situation was promptly forgotten.

---

Everyone gathered around for one last prep talk from Anzai-sensei, making use of the timeout that Meihou Kogyou had requested.

It hadn't been an easy game, and it took a lot of effort on the players' part to get things going their way, not to mention a lot of thinking and strategizing on Anzai-sensei and Hanayuki's part. Meihou Kogyou wasn't Sannoh, but nevertheless, they were a force to be reckoned with.

"Sensei, do you have anything you wish to say to them?" Ayako asked, after a moment of silence.

"No," came the short reply.

The whole team sweatdropped. Turning to Hanayuki, Ayako asked the same thing. "Yuki-chan, don't you have anything to say to the team?"

"Nope," Hanayuki replied cheerily.

"But... but this is the final game! Don't you like, want to say something and lift up their spirits a little?" Ayako asked.

"Hohoho! Ayako-san, having come this far, do you think that spirit-lifting is still necessary?" asked Anzai-sensei.

Ayako was rendered speechless, as were the rest of the team.

Hanayuki smiled. "Just remember everything that we've ever said to you, from the very first game you played for Shohoku to the most recent one. I think that's more than enough, don't you?"

Less than 5 seconds later, all members of the Shohoku basketball team could be seen with the fire of determination and confidence burning in their eyes. In their heads, every single word that had ever been said to them by Hanayuki or Anzai-sensei was playing in their heads.

_"Kimitachi wa tsuyoi."_

_"The Kainan game is over. Like it or not, we lost. Let that be the end of it. Why do you have to dwell on it and carry it with you to the next game you play?"_

_"The real opponent in today's game, is not Ryokufu. It's yourselves. If you cannot win against yourselves, then you have truly suffered the worst defeat of your lives."_

_"We'll show them tomorrow what Shohoku is really made of."_

_"I told them that they and their fucking team can go to hell."_

_"I'm not going to tell you that it'll be easy, even if it's just to make you feel better, because the truth is, it'll be very hard. Even so, you must not allow anything to shake your desire to win. No matter what happens, you must never give up, or lose hope."_

_"Everything's going to be fine, as long as you believe in yourself and the team. We have our advantages too."_

_"We shouldn't be afraid or intimidated by them. If you are, then you will not be able to release your full potential. Just relax, and play like normal."_

_"I don't give up. I never give up. Especially not when the game isn't over yet."_

_"All of you are what Shohoku is today."_

The rest, as they say, is history.

---

Outside the stadium, in a black limousine parked across the street... (A/n: Is it just me, or does this sound oddly familiar? Hmm...)

Mr Rukawa watched as the whole Shohoku team came out of the stadium, laughing and cheering like there's no tomorrow.

The scowl on his face intensified ten-fold when he saw Rukawa and Hanayuki coming out together, with Aoi-chan in her arms. Hanayuki had a big smile on her face, and while Rukawa didn't, his face looked visibly radiant.

Mr Rukawa watched as his son reached out to take Aoi-chan from Hanayuki, pulling Hanayuki in for a quick hug and a peck on the forehead as he did so. He clenched his fists so tightly that the knuckles were turning white. "That idiotic son of mine has no idea what he's walking into," he said through gritted teeth.

Turning to the limo driver, he barked, "Take me to the airport. Now!"

---

Hanayuki was receiving a peck on the forehead from Rukawa when out of the corner of her eye she saw a black limo pulling out onto the road from across the street and drive away. She recognised the limo immediately, and watched as it disappeared from her sight.

Rukawa noticed the slight change of expression on her face and turned to see what she was looking at. He too recognised the limo, even though he only saw the back of it. He frowned, and looked at Hanayuki, who was looking back at him.

Only when Sakuragi broke them out of their reverie did they look away from each other.

"Hana-chan, what should we do celebrate our victorious victory?" he asked excitedly.

Hanayuki couldn't help but smile at the excitement clearly shown on her brother's face. And the faces of everyone else. "Anything you want oniichan. We can party all night long, hopping from one pub to another if that's what you want. It's your call. It's everybody's call. Just say it, and we'll do it."

This was followed by a loud chorus of cheers, and Hanayuki smiled again. They have every reason to be that excited and happy. After all, they've just won the National Championships. What could be more important than that?

_Rukawa's father... _thought Hanayuki wearily.

She looked at Rukawa again, and he looked at her. Pulling her in for another hug, he said softly, "It's going be alright."

She tilted her head to look up at him, her eyes clearly telling him that she's not convinced, and he pressed his lips against her forehead again, this time longer. "It's going to be alright," he repeated.

Hanayuki managed a strained smile, before nodding her head. "Hai."

Deep down inside, however, she was still unconvinced. She very much wanted to believe what Rukawa had said, that everything was going to be alright, but she couldn't help but think that even Rukawa himself wasn't sure if things were going to be alright after all.

And if gut feelings were anything to go by, hers was telling her that something was going to happen soon. Something she wasn't sure she looked forward to.

---

At the airport...

Mr Rukawa was brooding silently in the vicinity of his limo when the door suddenly opened from the outside.

"Sir, they're here," said the chauffeur.

Mr Rukawa nodded curtly and got out of the car, straightening his suit in the process. He watched with a small smile as the small group of people slowly approached him.

_Enjoy yourself while you can, Tsukino Hanayuki..._

---

Author's notes: Phew finally... oh well, I hope this chapter isn't too bad. Took me long enough to finish it off. I know I downplayed Shohoku's win over Meihou Kogyou, but... I really don't know how to continue any further. I was afraid that, if I had tried to continue, this chapter would end up like the Sannoh chapters in the first part. And I don't want that to happen. Please read and review.


	15. The fiancée

**Chapter 15: The fiancée**

At the Shohoku basketball gym…

"Ne, Yuki-san?"

Hanayuki turned to look at Ichiro, who was sitting beside her on the bench. "Yes?"

"Anou, can I ask you a question?" asked Ichiro.

"What is it?"

"What exactly happened at the cafeteria today?"

Hanayuki was caught off guard, but managed to look indifferent at the unexpected question. She held his gaze for a moment, before looking away and turning her attention back to the players practicing on the court. "Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"Well, I'm just curious that's all."

"Since when have you become so curious about everything, Ichiro?" said Hanayuki, still not looking at him.

Flustered, Ichiro stammered, "I-I'm sorry Yuki-san. I mean, I didn't m-mean to pry into your private affairs. It's j-just that-"

"It's alright, Ichiro," Hanayuki broke him off. "I never said you were prying into my private affairs. I was just… curious… to know when you started becoming curious about everything." Glancing briefly at Ichiro, she gave him a small smile to put him at ease, before looking away again.

Ichiro breathed a sigh of relief that Hanayuki didn't get angry with him. Not wanting that to happen anytime soon, he decided not to pursue the matter any further. Despite that, he couldn't help but think about what had happened earlier that day at the school cafeteria.

-Flashback-

"Why do we have to go to the school cafeteria?" Rukawa grumbled, as he followed Hanayuki towards said destination.

"Not we, Kaede. _I_ have to. I promised oniichan that I'll spend some time with him today. I already told you that yesterday," Hanayuki reminded him.

Rukawa grunted in reply and said nothing else.

"Really, Kaede, if you don't want to go, you don't have to," said Hanayuki.

In reply, Rukawa quickened his pace so that he was walking side by side with Hanayuki. Then, without warning, he took her hand in his, prompting Hanayuki to look at him in surprise.

"Kaede?"

Rukawa didn't say anything, nor did he turn to look at her. He just kept on walking, his hand never losing its firm yet gentle grip on Hanayuki's hand. And Hanayuki, already used to his weird but sweet ways of expressing himself, let him lead the way.

Needless to say, all eyes were upon them as they walked along the corridors towards the cafeteria. Whispers of gossip and the occasional wails of sorrow and agony could be heard all over the place, but true to their nature, neither Rukawa nor Hanayuki paid any attention to them. In fact, they gave no indication whatsoever that they've even heard the commotion they've inadvertently caused around them.

However, it was impossible, even for the usually stoic Rukawa, to ignore the outburst of a certain redhead, a self-proclaimed Tensai, and regular member of the basketball team, Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"Teme kitsune! Get your hands off of Hana-chan!" he demanded, the minute he saw Hanayuki and Rukawa walk into the cafeteria.

Rukawa just looked at him expressionlessly while Hanayuki shook her head. It amused her to see Sakuragi burst out like that everytime he sees them together, despite having already come to terms with their relationship.

"I'm going to get something to drink. You guys want anything?" she asked, looking at the two of them.

"No, Hana-chan. I've already got mine," said Sakuragi, totally forgetting about his 'demand', while Rukawa nodded.

"Oniichan, why don't you sit down and eat your lunch? It's getting cold," said Hanayuki, gesturing to the food on the table in front of them. "I'll get my drink and then come back to join you and the others, ok?"

Sakuragi looked as if he was about to protest, but thought better of it and sat down. Hanayuki smiled to herself as she walked towards the vending machine, followed by Rukawa who didn't let go of her hand.

At the vending machine, Hanayuki put in enough money for a can of drink, and when the can came out, Rukawa reached down to take it. Finally letting go of Hanayuki's hand, he opened the can of drink and drank from it, before passing it to Hanayuki.

Taking the can from him, Hanayuki took a sip and proceeded to return to where Sakuragi and his gundan were sitting. On her way, she was blocked by a girl, so Hanayuki tried to walk around her, thinking that it was just a coincidence. To her surprise, the girl moved to block her way again.

Hanayuki looked at the girl, quickly taking in her appearance. She had black, wavy, shoulder-length hair, and her eyes were brown. Her skin was slightly tanned but the complexion was smooth and clear. Only slightly shorter than Hanayuki, she looked elegant with an air of grace around her.

She smiled at Hanayuki, who smiled back, albeit a little hesitatingly. There was something about the girl which made Hanayuki uncomfortable. Not only that, she could feel Rukawa tensing up behind her.

"Are you Tsukino Hanayuki from the basketball team?" the girl asked, the smile still plastered on her face.

Before Hanayuki could answer, Rukawa grabbed her hand and began to walk away, pulling Hanayuki along with him.

"Kaede, what's wrong?" Hanayuki asked, bewildered. But her question went unanswered as Rukawa just kept on walking, his grip on her hand tightening. And then, just as suddenly as he had grabbed her hand, he stopped in his tracks.

"Where are you going, Kaede-kun?" asked the girl, who, Hanayuki saw, was now standing in his way. She had obviously run to catch up to them, as her breathing was slightly laboured. But that didn't do anything to stop the smile from forming on her face.

By now, almost everyone in the cafeteria was looking at them, including Sakuragi.

Hanayuki looked at Rukawa beside her. To everyone else, Rukawa didn't look any different from before, but Hanayuki could see that despite his cool and calm demeanour, he was actually feeling a little nervous. Also, this she couldn't be too sure, but she thought she saw something akin to hatred in his eyes, which were, at the moment, directed at the girl in front of them.

"Miss, who are you?" Hanayuki asked. "Why do you keep blocking our way?"

The girl looked at Hanayuki. She was still smiling. "I'll ask you again. Are you, or are you not, Tsukino Hanayuki from the basketball team?"

Hanayuki glanced at Rukawa, before answering, "Yes I am. What do you want from me?"

"Nothing really," the girl replied. "I just wanted to tell you something. But before that," she took a step forward, moving closer to Hanayuki, "I would like to give you this."

The words were barely out of her mouth when Hanayuki felt a stinging pain on her left cheek, her head snapping to her right. Gasps could be heard from all around the cafeteria, and there was also the sound of the bench scraping against the floor when Sakuragi stood up in shock and anger.

Slowly, Hanayuki turned to look at the girl, whose smile was all but gone from her face. Hanayuki herself was shocked and angry to the core, but she forced herself to stay calm, not wanting to cause any more scenes than there already was.

"Hana-chan! Are you alright?" Sakuragi asked, his face etched with worry. Behind him were the gundan, who were all glaring at the girl.

Instead of answering his question, Hanayuki asked the girl, "Who are you? Why did you slap me?"

"Why don't you ask Kaede-kun beside you? He seems awfully quiet doesn't he? Especially since I just slapped you in the face," said the girl, her mouth curving into a sneer.

"Rukawa you bastard! Why didn't you stop her just now?" Sakuragi demanded angrily, shaking his fist at Rukawa.

Hanayuki's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you so afraid of telling me who you are that you keep avoiding the question?"

The girl shrugged carelessly. "No. I just thought I'd spare you the horrible truth, that's all. But since you keep on insisting that I tell you, I will." She turned to Rukawa. "Or would you rather you tell her, Kaede-kun?"

"What is she talking about, Rukawa? Say something you bastard!" Sakuragi shouted.

Hanayuki was beginning to get a headache from all the anger welling up within her. Barely able to restrain herself, she said though gritted teeth, "You either tell me who in the name of hell you are, or you leave me alone and never let me see your face again."

The girl clearly didn't expect Hanayuki to speak to her like that. Angry, she raised her hand to slap Hanayuki again, only to cry out in pain when Rukawa caught her hand on the wrist in a death grip.

"Ouch! You're hurting me, Kaede-kun! Let my hand go!" she cried.

Rukawa leaned forward so that he was looking right into her eyes. "If you so much as lay another finger on even a single hair of Yuki's, I will break your arm."

His voice took on such a dangerous edge that even onlookers felt threatened by him. They didn't have to look into his eyes like the girl to know that he meant every word he'd said.

Totally humiliated and in pain, the girl screamed at Rukawa. "You... How dare you! How dare you treat me like this! I'm the one you should be protecting, not this bitch! You should be holding my hand, not hers! You should be with me! Me! Me! Your fiancée!"

Once again, a collective gasp could be heard from around the cafeteria as all eyes turned to look at Rukawa, whose expression didn't change. Or maybe it did, but nobody was able to catch it, save for Hanayuki who would've been able to, except that she wasn't looking at him when this piece of news penetrated her eardrums and made its way to her brain to be processed.

"What the hell! What is she talking about Rukawa? Is it true that she's your fiancée?" asked Sakuragi furiously.

Ignoring him, Rukawa went on, "The only time when you can ever become my fiancée is when the sky falls down, the earth stops rotating, and I'm six feet under, reduced to nothing but a pile of bones and dust. But right now, as the sky is still intact, the earth is still spinning, and I'm still very much alive, you're NOT my fiancée. And I am NOT your fiancé. You may be my father's son's fiancée, but bear in mind that I am not my father's son. Not the kind of son that he wants me to be anyway. I will never, NEVER be the kind of son he wants me to be. Therefore, I will never, NEVER be your fiancé."

"You... You...!" The girl raised her free hand to slap Rukawa, but failed miserably when he caught it with his other hand.

He tightened his hold on both her hands and pulled her slightly closer to him. "Now get out of my sight and never let me see you again," he said softly, before letting her go, at the same time roughly pushing her away. Then, putting his arms around Hanayuki, who hasn't moved from his side, he led her out of the cafeteria, followed by Sakuragi and the gundan.

As soon as they were gone, the cafeteria immediately came to life, with everybody starting to talk at the same time. As for the girl, she was left alone holding herself, watching them as they left, with tears of pain pouring out of her eyes and her face twisted in anger.

-End of flashback-

"Yuki-san?"

Hanayuki broke out of her reverie and looked at Ichiro. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?" he asked. "You seemed to be distracted."

Hanayuki gave him small smile. "I'm ok. Don't worry."

Not convinced, Ichiro slowly nodded his head. "Ok."

Hanayuki knew that he was not convinced, but she pretended not to notice and paid attention to the players practising on the court. She watched as Rukawa did a feint and got past one of the juniors, jumping up and slamming the ball into the basket.

-Flashback-

"Oi, Rukawa! I asked you a question! Stop right where you are and answer me, damn it!" Sakuragi shouted, as they walked along the corridor. He couldn't be bothered about the fact that he was drawing attention to themselves; he just wanted to get an answer from Rukawa, who was ignoring him.

Deciding that he couldn't stand it any longer, he reached out to grab a fistful of Rukawa's shirt and pulled, forcing Rukawa to stop.

"I'm talking to you, you bastard! Answer my question!"

Rukawa answered with his fist, which came flying towards Sakuragi so quickly that the latter couldn't dodge it. Sakuragi staggered backwards from the force of the punch, letting go of Rukawa's shirt.

"Oniichan!"

Hanayuki was about to go to her brother when Rukawa stopped her and pulled her with him towards the nearest guy's bathroom. Once there, he locked the door before checking every stall to make sure that they're the only ones in the room. Satisfied that no one else was in the bathroom with them, he turned to face Hanayuki. Hanayuki just looked back at him wordlessly.

Moving closer to her, he placed a hand on her left cheek and caressed it gently. "Does it still hurt?" he asked.

"No," she replied, the tone in her voice a little colder than usual.

Deeply saddened, Rukawa reached out and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry..." he whispered over and over again, as he held her close.

Hanayuki knew that he was truly sorry for what had happened, but she couldn't help but feel a little hurt by the fact that he didn't tell her about this 'fiancée' of his. She had thought that, after the incident with Aoi-chan, they would never have to hide anything from each other. Obviously, she was wrong.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" she asked quietly. When he didn't answer, she pushed him away a little so that she could look up at him. "Please answer me."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Rukawa spoke. "What would you have done if I had told you?"

Hanayuki couldn't believe her ears. After all they had been through, he was still doubting her feelings for him!

_Have I not shown you how I truly feel, Kaede? Have I not done everything I could in my power to prove my feelings for you?_

Taking a deep breath, she held back the tears which were threatening to spill from her eyes. "What did you think I was going to do, Kaede?"

Seeing that he kept quiet, Hanayuki continued, "Did you think I was going to be mad at you? Did you think I was going to leave you?"

When Rukawa still didn't say anything, Hanayuki couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Choking back a sob, she turned to leave, but Rukawa held her back, holding onto her arm.

"Please don't go," he pleaded.

Turning back to look at him, Hanayuki could see that he was on the verge of breaking down himself, and it broke her heart. Sobbing uncontrollably now, she clasped a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle the sound of her sobs. And once again, Rukawa pulled her into a hug, enveloping her completely in his arms.

"Please don't leave me," he whispered hoarsely.

"I never once thought that, Kaede. I have never, ever thought of leaving you," Hanayuki said, sobbing into his chest. "Why... why did you think I was going to leave you if I found out about her? Did you really think that I do not love you at all? What do you want me to do to prove to you just how much I love you?"

Rukawa's eyes widened and began to water. Finally, after waiting for so long, he had heard Hanayuki say for the very first time that she loves him. Completely overwhelmed, tears of happiness and regret began to roll down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I doubted you. I promise you I won't ever doubt you again. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me..." he whispered.

Ignoring the poundings on the door and Sakuragi's shouts from outside the bathroom, they stayed in each other's arms, Hanayuki crying to her heart's content and Rukawa relishing in the fact that Hanayuki loves him and has finally told him so. When Hanayuki's sobs began to cease, he released his hold on her and wiped away the tears on her face with his hands. He pressed his lips against her forehead softly, before slowly moving down to her lips, and Hanayuki closed her eyes as he began to come closer and closer...

BAM!

Surprised, both Hanayuki and Rukawa jumped apart and looked up to see Sakuragi standing at the door. Or, to be more accurate, the frame of the doorway, since the door was now lying on the bathroom floor with its lock and hinges broken.

"O-oniichan!" Hanayuki stammered, blushing furiously.

"Hana-chan! Are you alright?" Sakuragi asked, oblivious to everything but his sister and her well-being.

"Do'aho."

"Teme kitsune! What are you doing locking yourself up in the guy's bathroom with Hana-chan? Have you lost your mind?!"

"Shut up, do'aho. You are the one with the lost mind. What did you break down the door for?"

"Nani? How dare you say that!"

"Maa, maa, Hanamichi. Let's not start a fight here in the bathroom. It's not... hygienic," said Youhei, trying to pacify his red-headed friend. Busy as he was, he still had time to sneak a look at Hanayuki and winked, causing her to blush again.

_Oh my... I wonder what he did that for... _thought Hanayuki, as she watched Youhei try to stop her brother from launching himself at Rukawa.

_Hehehehe..._ thought Youhei, as he tried to stop Sakuragi from launching himself at Rukawa.

_Stupid kitsune! How dare he humiliate this Tensai! _thought Sakuragi, as he tried to launch himself at Rukawa.

_Damn the do'aho for spoiling my most important moment with Yuki... _thought Rukawa, as he waited with his arms crossed for Sakuragi to launch himself at him. He glanced at Hanayuki, who seemed to be deep in thought.

_It doesn't matter though, because we have all the time in the world. _

Feeling Rukawa's eyes on her, Hanayuki turned to look at him. They smiled at each other, and Rukawa reached out to take her hand in his.

_Because she loves me, and I love her. Always have, forever will. _

-End of flashback-

Hanayuki smiled to herself as she recalled the incident in the bathroom. Before they had left for their own classrooms, Rukawa had promised to explain everything later at her house. Sakuragi hadn't been too satisfied with that, but Youhei managed to convince him that it was Hanayuki to whom Rukawa owed an explanation, not him, so he let it go.

"Die you miserable kitsune! Die!"

However, it was obvious to Hanayuki that her brother was still unhappy with Rukawa, given the way that he was acting around the latter.

_Oh well, I'll just have to explain things to oniichan after Kaede explains everything to me. _

She glanced at the watch on her wrist.

_A couple more hours, and everything will be clear as day. _

_---_

Later, in Hanayuki's room at home...

Both Rukawa and Hanayuki sat on her bed with their legs crossed, as Rukawa began to explain what had happened.

"On the night that we won the national championships, I went home and found my father waiting for me, along with 3 other people. He told me they were the Sugiyamas from Kyoto."

"Did you know them before this?" Hanayuki asked.

"No, I didn't. That was the first time I've seen them. Sugiyama Kioshi was one of my father's many business partners. He and his wife, Sugiyama Kaori are here to send their daughter, Sugiyama Kiori to study in Kanagawa," said Rukawa, introducing the Sugiyamas one by one.

"Ah sou... But why didn't they just send their daughter to school in Kyoto where they're from? Why send her here?"

"I didn't bother asking. I was going to go up to my room when my father said that he and Mr Sugiyama had decided to become in-laws, and that Sugiyama Kiori and I would become engaged."

Hanayuki kept quiet for a moment, before asking, "What did you say when he told you that?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Ok... what did you do then?"

"I stared at him like he's grown a pair of horns on his head."

"Uh-huh... so you didn't say anything nor did you do anything."

"No. After staring at him, I stared at the Sugiyamas."

"Right."

"And then, I told them that they would have to kill me first before I'd agree to be engaged to their daughter."

"And...?"

"The Sugiyamas were shocked and looked at my father, whose face turned as red as the do'aho's hair."

"You know, I'm surprised that you are taking this so lightly when really, it's quite a serious matter."

Rukawa shrugged. "To me, it isn't."

Hanayuki sighed. "So your father went mad with rage. What happened then?"

"Because of the Sugiyamas, he restrained himself from shouting at me, and just told me that it wasn't my decision to make. I told him that both of us knew better, and he just ordered me to go up to my room. I had wanted to do that earlier on anyway, so I did."

"He probably apologised to the Sugiyamas and assured them that everything was going to go as planned without any problems when you were gone."

"Probably."

"Did you know then that Sugiyama Kiori would be going to Shohoku?"

"No. I only found out when she appeared in front of us at the cafeteria."

"Hmm..." Pouting a little, Hanayuki said, "Well, you could've told me about her you know. Then maybe, we could've avoided that scene in the cafeteria."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think she would be coming to Shohoku, and would actually cause trouble for you," said Rukawa.

He shifted his legs so that he was sitting closer to Hanayuki. Then, he lifted one hand to touch the spot on her face where Sugiyama Kiori had slapped her. "If she ever touches you again, I swear I'm going to kill her."

Hanayuki reached up to take his hand and held it in both her hands. "Well don't, because I don't want you to become a killer and end up in jail," she said. Looking down, she started tracing her fingers along the lines on his palm.

"I won't," said Rukawa softly, placing his other hand on Hanayuki's cheek, prompting her to look at him. "I will never leave you. Ever."

Hanayuki smiled at his words. "I know."

Rukawa smiled back, and leaned forward, wanting to pick up from where they left off in the guy's bathroom.

Ring, ring!

Hanayuki's phone started ringing, and Rukawa groaned inwardly. Smiling apologetically at him, Hanayuki reached for the device and pressed a button on it before putting it to her ear. "Moshi moshi."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Hanayuki spoke again. "Oh, Aki, it's you. What-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence, as Rukawa had grabbed the phone from her the moment he found out who the caller was. He spoke into the phone with such contempt that Hanayuki was glad Sendoh was on the other side of the line and not next to Rukawa.

"We're busy at the moment, so call back tomorrow if you want. In fact, it would be best if you don't call back at all. Goodbye." With that, he pressed a button to effectively end the call, turned off the phone and tossed it aside, much to Hanayuki's chagrin.

"Kaede! What did you do that for? It could be important."

"Knowing him, it's probably as important as getting the right gel for his hair," Rukawa deadpanned.

"And what did you mean by, 'We're busy at the moment'? What were we busy about?"

"You'll see..." said Rukawa, a smirk suddenly appearing on his face.

Hanayuki blushed, and put her hands flat against his chest when he pulled her to him and held her tightly in his arms. "Kaede..." she started, but was cut off when Rukawa placed a finger on her lips to silent her.

"Shhh..." he shushed, determined to succeed after two failures. _It's now or never, _he thought, as he bent his head down towards Hanayuki, their lips about to touch...

Knock, knock.

"Hana-chan?"

Hanayuki gasped in alarm, and with a sudden burst of energy, pushed Rukawa away, sending him tumbling off the bed onto the floor.

"H-hai?" Hanayuki answered, trying to look as normal as possible as her mother opened the door and walked into the room.

"Hana-chan, I've made your favourite dessert. Come downstairs and eat some," said Mrs Anzai.

"Hai. I will, okaasan. Arigatou," Hanayuki replied.

Just then, Mrs Anzai caught sight of Rukawa sprawled on the floor. "Ara? Rukawa-kun, what are you doing?"

"N-nothing, okaasan. He just slipped and fell that's all. Clumsy boy," Hanayuki hurried to explain.

"Ah, sou ka? Well, I'll see you downstairs alright?"

"Yes, okaasan."

Smiling warmly at Rukawa, Mrs Anzai left the room and closed the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Hanayuki got up from the bed and knelt down beside Rukawa.

"I'm sorry! Are you alright? Did you hit your head or something?" she asked anxiously.

Rukawa sat up and shook his head, though his arm was aching a little from hitting the floor first. He narrowed his eyes when he saw that Hanayuki was biting her lip.

"What's so funny?"

Hanayuki burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! The way you fell off the bed just now, your legs practically went over your head. Hahahaha!"

"It's not funny. My arm hurts," said Rukawa, rubbing his arm to make his point.

Hanayuki stopped laughing. "Your arms hurt?"

Rukawa nodded. _Hn. I knew you'd be concerned for me._

"Come, let me have a look at it," said Hanayuki.

Rukawa stretched out his arm, only to draw it back quickly when Hanayuki pinched him.

"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the sore spot.

"Hmph. That'll teach you not to do inappropriate things to me," said Hanayuki, sticking out her tongue at him before getting to her feet. "Come on. Okaasan and otousan are waiting for us."

Grunting, Rukawa got up from the floor, ignoring Hanayuki's extended hand.

Hanayuki stared at him for a moment, before breaking into a smile.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"Nothing. Just wanted to give you this." Hanayuki stood on her tiptoe and kissed Rukawa lightly on the cheek, taking him by surprise." Come on. Let's go downstairs."

She turned around without waiting for his response, but she knew that he was smiling, all the way down the stairs to the kitchen.

And so was she.

---

Author's notes: I am getting really frustrated with this QuickEdit thingy. It's crazy I tell you. One day, it allows you to type in 3 dashes in a row. Another day, it doesn't. One day, it allows you to use this symbol. Another day, it doesn't. It's driving me mad... but fortunately, it didn't stop me from writing. Chapter 15 is finally here. My goodness, how long have I taken to write this chapter? Very long, if I might say so myself. Sorry for the delay. Please, do read and review. Thank you.


	16. Double exposure

**Chapter 16: Double exposure  
**

_Shit. _

That was the first word which came into Youhei's mind as soon as he saw the paper pasted on the bulletin board. Normally, he wouldn't have stopped to look at the board. Normally, he wouldn't even have glanced at it.

Not this time.

_It would've been impossible not to see this, _thought Youhei, as he stared at the very brightly-coloured poster-sized paper. _Anybody who's not blind would've been able to see it from the end of the corridor. _

"Hey Youhei! What are you looking at…" Takamiya found his own voice trailing away as he looked at the bulletin board._  
_

Behind him, Noma and Ookusu looked on gravely. "We'd better rip this out before Hanamichi sees it," said Noma. Ookusu nodded his head in agreement.

"You don't even have to tell me twice," said Youhei, tearing the paper off the board. "Whoever did this must have a death wish."

"And a big one too," said Takamiya, pointing to the other end of the corridor. There, pasted on the wall, was another copy of the paper containing a picture of Hanayuki and Aoi-chan at the playground, obviously taken without their knowledge or permission, and below it, Aoi-chan's birth certificate, with Hanayuki's name on the certificate circled in red ink.

As the four friends stood rooted to the ground, their eyes transfixed on the same thing, the same thought crossed their minds.

_This is not good._

---

Hanayuki was used to people pointing and whispering about her, but this time, she found it to be much more unbearable than before.

"There she goes."

"I can't believe it. She looks like such a good girl."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Poor Rukawa-kun. He must be devastated."

"No wonder she refers to Sakuragi Hanamichi as her brother. She's just as wild as he is."

Annoyed, Hanayuki quickened her pace to escape the brutal whisperings. She was so eager to get away that, as she turned around the corner, she bumped into the principal who was coming the opposite way.

"Ah! Gomen-nasai, sensei!" Hanayuki apologised quickly.

The principal adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat before saying, "Tsukino-san, you are the just the person that I was looking for. If you will follow me to my office please, I have something to discuss with you."

Hanayuki nodded her head and said, "Hai, sensei." She could hear the whisperings picking up around her again. Letting out a sigh, she removed her hearing aids, for once feeling glad about the deafening silence that took over.

_---_

BAM!

Every student in the classroom looked up at the slamming of the door against the wall. Normally, the girls would have immediately turned starry-eyed, but this time, instead of euphoria (thus the starry-eye symptom), they felt a sense of fear.

Sugiyama Kiori definitely felt it; it would have been a lie to say that she didn't, seeing as to how it was her that the cold blue eyes of Rukawa were looking at. She forced herself to stay calm as he slowly made his way towards her.

When he finally stopped right in front of her desk, he was towering above her, and if Kiori had wanted to feel thankful that he leaned down so that they were both at the eye-level of each other, she quickly felt otherwise when she saw the intense hatred that was literally spurting out of his eyes. In an equally venomous tone, he spoke softly, but loud enough for her to catch every word.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully and remember it well. There is nothing, I repeat, nothing, that you can do that will affect us, Yuki and I. Having said that, I don't appreciate your meddlesome ways, so do yourself a favor and stop all your futile efforts." He straightened up to his full height, once again towering over Kiori, before continuing, "And the next time you see my father, tell him that I will never forgive him if he does anything more than he already has."

With that, Rukawa walked out of the classroom, but not before slamming the door close behind him. Everybody moved out of his way as he stalked down the corridor in his usual silent way. He was about to make his way to the rooftop when the sight of Sakuragi and the gundan sticking themselves to the principal's office door stopped him in his tracks.

When Sakuragi saw Rukawa, he made some motions with his hands, beckoning to the latter to come over. Grudgingly, Rukawa obliged.

"Kitsune, come and help listen to the conversation inside," he said in an unusually soft voice.

Rukawa narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Do'a-"

"Hana-chan is inside with the oyaji."

Rukawa raised his eyebrows as the insult died on his lips. He took half a step forward, stopped, contemplated for half a second what eavesdropping with the likes of Sakuragi and his friends was going to do to his image, decided that he didn't care, and proceeded to stick himself to the door alongside the others.

---

In the principal's office...

"Tsukino-san, this rumour about you that is going around the school..."

Hanayuki watched as the principal spoke to her from across his table, his hands clasped together in front of him. She could hear almost nothing of what he was saying, but she knew what he was saying, thanks to the lip-reading lessons which she had taken a few years ago.

"If this should ever get out, if the parents of Shohoku's students should ever hear about this..."

It would've been so much easier to simply put on her hearing aids and listen, but Hanayuki wasn't in the mood to hear anything. At least, not anything with the kind of tone that the students of Shohoku had been using the whole morning, which she was sure the principal was also using at the moment.

"Therefore, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to..."

Even so, Hanayuki could still feel and see the tone, and she was getting sick of it.

"Do you understand what I'm saying, Tsukino-san?"

Hanayuki was tempted to just nod her head, get up, and leave the room. Just so that she could escape the tone.

"To put it simply, you're expelling me for getting raped and giving birth as a result of the rape at the age of 12," said Hanayuki monotonously.

The principal gaped at Hanayuki; he was definitely not prepared for her response.

Seeing that the principal was rendered speechless, Hanayuki stood up and bowed. "I'm sorry for all the trouble that I have caused you and the school. Thank you very much for your time, sensei." She turned around and walked to the door.

"Aaaarggghhhh!"

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The principal blinked at the sight in front of him: a bunch of guys lying on top of each other, groaning and moaning.

And right at the bottom, Hanayuki herself.

---

5 minutes later...

"Hana-chan, wait! Hana-chan!"

Hanayuki paid no heed to Youhei and continued walking. Even when she felt a hand grasping her arm, she didn't stop to see who it was. She just wanted to get out of the place. She had had enough of everything.

Rukawa planted his feet firmly on the ground and held on to Hanayuki's arm, determined not to let her go any further. And she didn't. But then she started clawing at his hand with her free hand, trying to make him let go of her arm, so he tightened his hold, only to let go immediately when he saw her grimace in pain.

Seizing the opportunity, Hanayuki walked away as fast as she could, but this time, instead of one hand, she felt two hands grabbing her from behind, and pulling her back into an all-too-familiar embrace. Hanayuki let out a sigh and gave up trying to get away.

"Hana-chan!" Youhei called out, finally catching up to them. "Hana-chan, where are you going? You can't leave school just like that."

Hanayuki just looked at him without saying anything.

"What's wrong Hana-chan?"

No reply.

"Hana-chan?"

Still no reply.

"Rukawa, why don't you take her home? I'll stay and make sure Hanamichi doesn't do anything stupid," said Youhei.

Rukawa gave him a nod and let go of Hanayuki, taking her hand in his and giving it a tug.

Hanayuki looked up at him. After what seemed like an eternity, she said wearily, "Your bag."

"I'll go get it Rukawa," Youhei volunteered immediately. "You stay here with Hana-chan." He left before either Hanayuki or Rukawa could say anything else.

Rukawa turned his attention back to Hanayuki, who did the same, and they both stared at each other until Rukawa wrapped his arms around Hanayuki, once again pulling her into an embrace. Mentally exhausted, Hanayuki closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so tired," she said softly.

"I know." There was a pause. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said, lifting her head to look at him. "It's not your fault," she repeated, when Rukawa didn't say anything. She reached up to touch his face, and he responded by hugging her closer, resting his chin on the top of her head.

They stayed that way for a while, and only broke apart when they heard Youhei clearing his throat. Nodding his head in thanks, Rukawa took his bag, and, holding on to Hanayuki's hand, led the way to the bicycle shed where he had kept his bicycle. It was a silent ride home, with Rukawa concentrating on the road and Hanayuki hugging him from the back. They ignored the stares from curious passer-bys, wondering what two students were doing outside of school during school hours.

"Maybe you should go back to school after sending me home Kaede," said Hanayuki.

Rukawa shook his head

Knowing that there was no changing his mind, Hanayuki didn't push the matter any further and kept quiet. A moment later, Rukawa spoke.

"When you reach home, get changed. I'll go home and get changed too, and then I'll pick you up."

"Why? Where are we going?" Hanayuki asked, confused

"A date," came the reply.

Hanayuki blinked. "Huh?"

When she didn't get a response, she stared at his back for a while, before breaking into a rueful smile. "We've never really been on a date before, have we?"

She couldn't see it, but the expression on Rukawa's face softened considerably. "No."

Silence. And then...

"So where are you going to take me?"

---

Hanayuki had never been happier in her whole life.

Sure, Rukawa had fallen asleep in the cinema; so did she. The movie was just too long and boring. They should've known better, seeing as to how empty the cinema had been at the time.

Then, there was the slight hitch where he almost got into a fight with the manager at the children's arcade when the latter told them off for hogging the basketball machine for a whole hour, causing a really long queue to form behind them. She had barely managed to contain the situation by dragging Rukawa away, but not before grabbing the tickets which they had won from said machine.

Which almost got him into another fight with the attendant at the tickets exchange counter when the latter declared that they didn't have enough tickets to redeem the really huge and cute soft toy put on display. Hanayuki had to once again drag Rukawa away before he could do any damage to the other very much smaller man.

After that, she had tried to push him into a sticker photo booth, failing miserably when Rukawa didn't budge a single inch no matter how hard she had pushed. She had then proceeded to give him the silent treatment, ignoring him even when he had gotten this whole bunch of little kids to come up to her one by one with a piece of candy each, only to burst out laughing to no end when they practically swamped him off his feet later for more candy.

There was no way she could have continued with the silent treatment after that episode, so she gave up trying to get him to take a picture with her at the booth and let him take her to this fast food restaurant where they got something to eat, before heading to the park. It was empty at that hour, which was great because Hanayuki had wanted to play on the swings. She swung to her heart's delight while Rukawa looked on.

Click.

Hanayuki stopped swinging immediately and looked up in surprise. "Did you just take a picture of me?"

Rukawa pretended not to have heard her and knelt down to have a closer look at the nearby bushes. The next thing he knew, Hanayuki had pounced on him like a cat pouncing on a rat.

"Give me that! I can't believe that you had a camera on you all this while and you never told me!"

Rukawa kept the camera out of her reach easily, despite having to keep his balance AND make sure that she didn't fall off his back, which she was currently hanging on to while still trying to grab the camera. Despite her yells, Hanayuki was actually having fun, laughing her heart out. Rukawa himself couldn't resist a smile, however small it may be.

Click.

Both Hanayuki and Rukawa kept still at the sound of another camera click. Turning their heads, they saw a man looking in his early twenties with a polaroid camera smiling at them. "Hello," he greeted. "I hope you don't mind, but I just couldn't resist taking your picture. The two of you looked so cute together."

Rukawa kept a blank expression on his face, while Hanayuki brightened up immediately. "Can I have a look at the picture?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course. Here you go," said the man, holding it out.

Hanayuki eagerly took it, and as she looked at it, her smile got bigger and bigger, while Rukawa, who was looking from behind, still had the same expression on his face.

In the picture, Hanayuki was shown holding onto Rukawa's back with one hand, while her other hand tried to reach for the camera. Rukawa himself had one hand on the camera, holding it high above his head, while his other hand was holding onto Hanayuki. She was laughing, and Rukawa was smiling.

"Is it possible for me to keep this picture, sir?" asked Hanayuki, looking hopeful. To her delight, the man nodded his head.

"Sure. It is a picture of you and your boyfriend after all," he said, still smiling.

"Thank you!" said Hanayuki, beaming happily. Next to her, Rukawa was beaming happily too. On the inside.

_You and your boyfriend..._

They were so engrossed in their own world that they didn't realise that the man had left, smiling to himself as he carefully put his SLR camera back into its bag. _I can't wait to see the pictures that I have just taken..._

_---_

Two days later...

"Rukawa-san, I haven't seen Kaede-kun for a while. How is he doing?" Mr Sugiyama enquired.

At the mention of the younger Rukawa, Kiori visibly stiffened, but it went unnoticed by both her parents. Mr Rukawa, on the other hand, pretended not to have seen it. Putting a smile on his face, he said, "Kaede's doing fine. His school's basketball team just won the National Championships not too long ago. He was very excited and happy about it."

"Is that so? That's odd. Kiori did not mention anything about it to me," said Mrs Sugiyama, glancing at her daughter.

"Oh I'm sure she just forgot about it. You know how it is with youngsters these days. They forget about everything when they're having fun together," said Mr Rukawa. "As a matter of fact, Kaede didn't tell me about it. I read about it from the newspapers."

Mr Sugiyama nodded in agreement, while his wife laughed. "That is so true, Rukawa-san."

Turning to Kiori, Mr Rukawa asked, "How is everything in school, Kiori-chan? I hope everything is going well for you."

"Everything is fine, Rukawa-san. Thank you very much for your concern," she replied.

"You know, I hardly see Kaede, what with my work and his basketball practices. I would like to know more about his life at school, so tell me, did anything interesting happen recently? Anything that has got to do with him, or the basketball team?"

Kiori knew exactly what he was asking about and wasted no time in telling him what he wanted to know. "Nothing much besides their victory at the National Championships. However, the school was in an uproar for the past couple of days."

"Oh? An uproar? About what my dear?" asked Mrs Sugiyama.

"Well, it turns out that a 2nd year student in our school has a 3-year-old daughter. She tried to keep it secret, but the school found out anyway and had her expelled," said Kiori, emphasising on the word 'expelled'. She looked at Mr Rukawa, who she could see was delighted with this piece of information.

Mr Sugiyama shook his head. "Youngsters these days..."

"Yes, Sugiyama-san. It's a shame really. I can't tell you how glad I am that my Kaede is engaged to Kiori-chan. She is beautiful and gentle and kind, so unlike the other girls."

"You're too kind, Rukawa-san."

The conversation continued for a little longer, before Mr Rukawa signalled to the waiter for the bill. After paying for the meal, Mr Rukawa and the Sugiyamas left the restaurant, and while waiting for their car to arrive, continued their conversation from before.

It was Kiori who saw it first, and as she stood where she was, transfixed by what she was seeing, she was joined by first her mother, then her father, and last but not least, Mr Rukawa himself. The uproar caused by Hanayuki's expulsion was nothing compared to the one that followed suit.

"Rukawa-san, what is the meaning of this?" Mr Sugiyama demanded angrily. "Didn't you tell me that your son has agreed to the engagement between Kiori and himself?"

"Sugiyama-san, please, let me-" Mr Rukawa tried to explain.

"Well obviously we have been lied to, darling," Mrs Sugiyama cut in. "I mean, look at that. Does that look like the boy has agreed to the engagement?"

"If you will let me explain-"

"This is the last straw, Rukawa-san!" Kiori shouted. She turned to her parents. "Otousan, okaasan, I should've told you this earlier, but Rukawa Kaede, he never agreed to our engagement. In fact, he humiliated me in front of everybody at school when I confronted him about it."

"This is outrageous! Rukawa, how dare you disrespect my daughter! And me! And my family!"

"Sugiyama-san, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you and your family. I care a lot for Kiori-chan," Mr Rukawa pleaded.

"No you don't! Did you know that after you asked me to put up posters of that girl and her daughter in school, I was threatened by no less than 5 people? I was threatened!"

"Rukawa!"

"Hmph! I think the only reason why he had proposed this engagement in the first place is because of our family's business influence, darling."

"Otousan, okaasan, I want to go home. I don't want to stay here anymore."

"Rukawa, I will not forget this humiliation! From now on, the Sugiyama family has nothing to do with the Rukawas. And as for the business contracts, consider them cancelled!"

With that, the Sugiyamas walked off, leaving Mr Rukawa standing alone on the sidewalk. Shaking with anger, he slowly turned around and looked at the two black and white photos put on display at the photography shop next to the restaurant.

In the first picture, Rukawa was shown hugging Hanayuki from behind as they looked at a polaroid picture which she was holding in her hands. In the second picture, Hanayuki had turned her head to look at Rukawa, and they were smiling at each other.

As Mr Rukawa took in the images, a single thought repeated itself in his mind.

_You will pay for everything, Tsukino Hanayuki!_

_---_

Author's notes: A big PHEW! How long has it been since my last chapter? One year? Two years? I'm dreadfully sorry for taking so long. I really am. It's just that I got really stuck after the last chapter, not knowing how to continue the story. I know how the story goes; I just didn't know how to write it out. Anyway, I was going through all the reviews which I had gotten for this story and the previous one, and they wrecked me up with guilt so badly that I practically forced myself to sit in front of the laptop and stare at the screen until I could start writing again. And guess what? It actually worked. Somehow, once I started writing, the ideas started coming, and as I kept on writing, the ideas kept on coming. And so here we are. Chapter 16. If my calculations are correct, there should be at least two more chapters to go. Once again, I'm sorry for the really long delay. I feel really bad, especially to the people who had read and asked me to continue. I'm so sorry! Oh, and I was also going through this story and the previous story, and I realised that I had made Rukawa more and more out-of-character as the chapters rolled by. Haha. I'm sorry about that too. So much for non-OOC-ness.


	17. The tragedy

**Chapter 17: The tragedy  
**

November 15th, Hie Temple, Akasaka, Tokyo...**  
**

"Say cheese!"

"Cheese!"

Hanayuki smiled at the antics of Sendoh and Aoi-chan, the former busy taking pictures of the latter. "Please be careful, Aoi-chan. Try not to dirty your kimono."

"Hai, okaachan!"

Fujima, who was standing beside her, chuckled. "I think you're going to be having a hard time washing that kimono."

Hanayuki shook her head. "Tell me about it. But it's ok. It's her first time wearing one after all." She looked around her, before continuing, "It really is quite popular, this temple. There are so many families here today paying their 'Shichi-go-san' respects."

(A/n: Shichi-go-san literally means seven-five-three. It is a day of prayer for the healthy growth of young children, particularly boys and girls aged 3, boys aged 5 and girls aged 7. Families with children at those ages will visit a Shinto shrine, where most girls will wear a kimono and boys will wear haori jackets and hakama pants.)

"Families have been coming here since the Edo period," Fujima explained. "It's a very old temple."

"Yeah, that was what Aki had told me too," said Hanayuki, before looking around her again. "By the way, have you seen oniichan and Kaede?"

"Now that you mention it, no I haven't," said Fujima. "Nor have I heard-"

"Teme kitsune! Hold them properly! You're going to drop them all!" came Sakuragi's voice from behind.

Both Hanayuki and Fujima turned around at the sound of Sakuragi's voice. And promptly felt their jaws drop open at the sight that beheld them.

"Do'aho, you just dropped one on the ground."

"Nani! Oh no!"

"What in Kami-sama's name do you think you guys are doing?" asked Fujima, finally regaining the use of his voice after picking his jaw back up from the ground. Hanayuki, on the other hand, burst out laughing.

"What do you mean? What does it look like we're doing?" asked Sakuragi in return. Rukawa just kept quiet, letting his redhead companion do the talking.

Fujima looked at all the chitose-ame in their hands. "Are you planning to distribute them to all the children here?"

(A/n: Chitose-ame is also known as longevity candy. It is shaped like a stick and comes in a bag that carries illustrations of cranes and turtles. These two animals are symbols of long life. Chitose literally means a thousand years. Parents buy chitose-ame for their children, using it as an expression of their wish that their children lead a long and prosperous life.)

"What? Of course not! There're all for Aoi-chan!" Sakuragi exclaimed. Beside him, Rukawa raised an eyebrow, as if surprised that Fujima could've thought of such a thing.

Fujima threw his hands up in amused despair. "Are you trying to make Aoi-chan lose all of her teeth at the tender age of 3?"

Sakuragi snorted. "Don't be silly Fujima."

"But-"

"Oniichan, you didn't by any chance buy the whole lot of chitose-ame from the vendor, did you?" Hanayuki asked, cutting in.

"Yes I did, Hana-chan," Sakuragi answered enthusiastically. "How did you know?"

Hanayuki pointed at something behind him. "It's quite obvious really."

Turning around, both Rukawa and Sakuragi found themselves face-to-face with a group of grim-looking parents and their shiny-eyed children.

"Er... ehehehe..."

---

"Hana-chan, do you have any idea how much money I spent-"

"Oniichan, I am not going to let Aoi-chan eat all of them. Not even keep them so that she could have one every day. She's had more than enough to last her the whole year," said Hanayuki firmly.

"But-" Sakuragi was cut off by a tug at his jeans. He looked down to see a small boy looking up at him, his eyes big and round.

"Give him one oniichan," said Hanayuki, as she gave a chitose-ame to another boy.

"Here you go," said Sakuragi grudgingly. The small boy's face lightened up immediately.

"Arigatou, oniichan!" he said loudly, before running off to join his parents.

Hanayuki smiled to herself as she watched him leave. She glanced at Rukawa, who was giving out the candies on one knee. About to walk up to him, she stopped when she heard Sendoh's voice from behind her.

"Whoa, what's all this?" he asked. Aoi-chan, whom he was carrying on his shoulders, squealed when she saw all the chitose-ame.

"Hana-chan is making us give away all the chitose-ame that we had... bought... for..." Sakuragi trailed off when Hanayuki looked at him with a warning look on her face.

"Bought for who, Sakuragi-kun?" asked Sendoh.

"For the children, Aki," said Hanayuki. She passed all the chitose-ame in her hands to Sakuragi, giving him another warning look, before reaching out for Aoi-chan. "Where have the two of you been?"

"Aki-touchan brought Aoi-chan everywhere. We took pictures everywhere!" said Aoi-chan, allowing herself to be carried down from Sendoh's shoulders and into Hanayuki's arms.

"Really now? That's nice. Would you like to take more pictures, Aoi-chan? You haven't taken any with okaachan."

"And Kenji-touchan," Fujima added.

"And Hana-jiichan!" Sakuragi quickly piped in.

Rukawa merely nodded his head.

"That was why we came back," said Sendoh, gesturing to his camera. "Are you guys ready, or do I have to wait until you have given out all the chitose-ame?"

Within minutes, Sakuragi, Rukawa and Fujima had given away everything and was waiting for their turn to take pictures with Aoi-chan. Besides Aoi-chan, they also took pictures with Hanayuki, and, at Hanayuki's request-cum-order, with each other.

There were pictures of Aoi-chan in Rukawa's arms, Aoi-chan on Sakuragi's shoulders, Aoi-chan standing next to a kneeling Fujima, Aoi-chan sitting on Hanayuki's lap, each of the boys with Hanayuki and Aoi-chan, all four boys together with Aoi-chan, and last but not least, everyone together.

(A/n: For the picture of all the boys with Aoi-chan, imagine both Sakuragi and Sendoh standing behind her, bending down at the waist, while both Fujima and Rukawa are crouching on either side of her. It is the same arrangement for the picture of everyone together, except that this time Hanayuki is carrying Aoi-chan in her arms.)

When it was decided that everyone had had enough of taking pictures, they left the temple. As planned, they moved on to Sendoh's ancestral home in Tokyo, where lunch was served. (A/n: Sendoh is from Tokyo.)

"Thank you very much for your kind hospitality, Aki. I really appreciate it," said Hanayuki, smiling gratefully at Sendoh.

Sendoh waved his hand in a dismissal gesture. "Don't worry about it ne, Hana. It's all for my beloved little Aoi-chan. There was no way I'd let you miss the Shichi-go-san prayers, and they said that the Hie Temple is the best place of all."

"Heh, admit it Sendoh. You just wanted to spend some time alone with Hana-chan and Aoi-chan," said Sakuragi accusingly, while munching on a piece of fish. "The Tensai saw through your plan as soon as Hana-chan told me about it."

Rukawa narrowed his eyes in agreement.

"Oh? Is that so? That would explain why you had insisted on tagging along," said Fujima.

"As if you didn't, Fujima-san," said Sendoh. "And you too, Rukawa-kun."

"Well, to be fair, I would've asked them to come along myself. They are after all Aoi-chan's Kenji-touchan and Kaede-touchan and Hana-jiichan," said Hanayuki.

Sakuragi laughed. "Nyahahahaha! You hear that Sendoh-yaro?"

"Yes, yes, Hana-kun I heard that."

"What did you just call me?!"

"But Hana-kun, if you can call me Sendoh-yaro, surely I can call you Hana-kun, which is, by the way, much more polite than what you just called me," said Sendoh smilingly.

Sakuragi opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came out.

Sendoh smiled triumphantly. "See? You couldn't disagree, could you?"

Sakuragi stared at Sendoh as he closed and opened his mouth a couple more times, but still nothing came out.

"I knew it," said Sendoh. "Anyway minna, I have been thinking."

He pointed at Sakuragi. "Since you are Hana's brother, and I am Hana's good friend, and she and I are on a first-name basis, we really should be on a first-name basis too."

"Nani?"

"As for you Rukawa-kun, since you are Hana's-" Sendoh hesitated for a moment before continuing, "boyfriend, and I am Hana's good friend, and she and I are on a first-name basis, we should also be on a first-name basis as well."

Rukawa looked at him disinterestedly.

"And Fujima-san, since we are both Hana's good friends, and we are both on a first-name basis with Hana, I think we should-"

"Be on a first-name basis with each other," Fujima finished for him.

"Exactly!" said Sendoh, snapping his fingers. "So you do agree with me then?"

"Hell no! The Tensai does not want to be on a first-name basis with you!"

"But why not? Not only are we Hana's mutual friends, we are also Aoi-chan's mutual relatives," Sendoh reasoned.

"Yeah, try telling that to the kitsune. If he agrees to it then this Tensai will also agree to it," said Sakuragi, knowing that Rukawa would never agree.

"A-ha! See that Hana-kun! You know that Rukawa-kun will never agree to my suggestion."

"So?"

"So that means you know Rukawa-kun fairly well. All the more reason why you should be on a first-name basis with not just me, but also Rukawa-kun," Sendoh reasoned again.

Fujima was amused. "You should give up basketball and take up debating, Sendoh. Your arguments are just impossible."

"Don't try to change the subject Fujima-san," said Sendoh, wagging a finger at Fujima. "Come on guys! What's so hard about calling each other by the first name?"

"Why are you so keen on being on a first-name basis with all of us Sendoh?" asked Fujima curiously.

Sakuragi eyed Sendoh with suspicion. "Yeah. What's the catch?"

Sendoh groaned in exasperation.

Hanayuki, while smiling at his predicament, took pity on him and said, "I kinda like Aki's idea."

Sendoh gave the other three guys a pointed look.

"Just give them time, Aki. They'll come around soon enough," said Hanayuki, placing a hand on Sendoh's arm.

Sendoh grunted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Hanayuki just smiled and shook her head a little, turning her attention back to Aoi-chan, who was starting to play with her food.

The rest of lunch was consumed in a fairly companionable silence. When it was over, they sat in the lounge, drinking tea and talking.

Well, Sendoh and Fujima did most of the talking. Sakuragi did most of the threatening; Sendoh wouldn't stop calling him Hana-kun. Rukawa chose to play with Aoi-chan, while Hanayuki watched them, every now and then joining in Sendoh and Fujima's conversation.

At one point, Hanayuki was listening with rapt attention to Sendoh's story of his ancestors when the latter suddenly stopped. Everyone turned to look at what had caught his eye, and felt their hearts melt at the sight that greeted them.

Rukawa, unsurprisingly, had fallen asleep lying on the floor, while Aoi-chan, who had also fallen asleep, was lying on her stomach on his chest.

Not even Sakuragi could stop the smile from creeping onto his face.

---

Later, at a basketball court near Sendoh's Tokyo home...

Rukawa slowly dribbled the ball as he advanced towards the basket, closely guarded by Sendoh. Not too far away from them, Sakuragi was being marked by Fujima.

Hanayuki was sitting on a bench nearby with Aoi-chan on her lap, watching them play their two-on-two game.

Without warning, Rukawa began to force his way through. Expecting it, Sendoh kept up a good defense. What he didn't expect though was Rukawa jumping up to shoot, and so he jumped up to stop him, only to find Rukawa passing the ball to Sakuragi.

Sakuragi, upon receiving the ball, turned around to shoot but was stopped by Fujima. Smirking, he back-passed to Rukawa, who immediately bounce-passed the ball back to Sakuragi. By then, even though Fujima had only let down his guard a little, it was more than enough for Sakuragi to jump up and successfully shoot the ball into the basket.

"Yosh!" Sakuragi shouted. "The Tensai has scored!"

"Do'aho."

"Yeah yeah whatever kitsune."

The two boys exchanged a high-five, much to the amusement of Sendoh and Fujima and the delight of Hanayuki. Both Sakuragi and Rukawa would not admit it, but it was obvious that a budding and unique relationship was forming between them.

Out of nowhere, a gust of wind blew across the basketball court. Hanayuki looked around at the trees that started swaying along with the wind. And felt her heart skip a beat at what she saw next.

"Kaede! Oniichan!" she cried out, clutching Aoi-chan close to her chest.

Sendoh, the first to notice that something was wrong, quickly pulled Hanayuki to him, shielding her and Aoi-chan. Sakuragi and Rukawa, upon seeing the oncoming group of men, stood up to their full heights, their eyes taking on a dangerous edge.

"Sendoh, take Hanayuki and Aoi-chan with you and go," said Rukawa in a barely audible voice.

"Kaede-" Hanayuki began.

"Listen to Rukawa, Hana-chan. Take Aoi-chan and go with Sendoh and Fujima. This is no time for arguments," Sakuragi said, cutting her off.

Sendoh looked at Rukawa and Sakuragi, who had moved to stand in front of him. "Be careful, the two of you." Turning to Hanayuki, he said, "Come Hana."

As if on cue, the group of men started running towards them, prompting Sakuragi to shout, "Quick, run!"

Both Hanayuki and Sendoh broke into a run, followed by Fujima. Rukawa and Sakuragi sprang into action, lashing out at the intruders.

"Hurry Hana," urged Sendoh, as he looked back and saw that some of the men were running after them.

_This is not good! There are just too many of them!_

"Fujima! Take Hana and Aoi-chan with you! I'm going to stop and hold them back," Sendoh shouted to Fujima.

"Be careful!" Fujima shouted back, before calling to Hanayuki. "Yuki, keep running!"

"But what about Aki?" asked Hanayuki, still running. "We can't leave him on his own."

"We don't have a choice! The most important thing now is to keep you and Aoi-chan safe. Now hurry!" said Fujima. Looking back, he could see that they were still being pursued.

_Damn it! Where is everybody when you need them?!_

He could hear their footsteps coming nearer and nearer. Determined to protect Hanayuki and Aoi-chan, Fujima shouted to her, "Yuki, don't stop running! No matter what happens just keep going and don't look back!"

"Kenji!"

"Go!"

By now, Aoi-chan was crying at the top of her lungs. Left with no options, Hanayuki bit her lips and kept running, trying to keep the tears at bay.

_Please Kami-sama, let everyone be safe!_

As she ran, she looked around wildly for passerbys, but there were none. Desperate, she started shouting for help.

"Help! Help! Somebody please help me!"

The more she shouted, the faster her heart seemed to beat. Hanayuki knew only too well that she was at the risk of having a heart attack, but she willed to herself not to give up.

_Please Kami-sama! Just this once! Not now! Please-_

She screamed when a hand grabbed at her arm, and struggled to get away. "Let go of me! Let go of me!"

More and more hands began to grab at her, and then, the next thing she knew, Aoi-chan was forcefully taken away from her.

"No! No! Give Aoi-chan back! Give her back to me! No!" she screamed.

"Okaachan! Okaachan!"

"Aoi-chan! No!" Hanayukic cried, tears streaming down her face. "Please give her back! I beg you! Please!"

"Shut up!" One of the men shouted, before giving her a hard slap.

The slap took Hanayuki's breath away, and everything went pitch black. She felt herself being pushed onto the ground, and as she tried to get up, she could hear the footsteps of the men fading away. She could also hear the sound of a car stopping nearby, the door opening, the men getting in, the door closing, and the car speeding away.

But most importantly, she could hear Aoi-chan's cries as she slowly gave in to the throbbing pain in her head and her heart.

---

Sakimono General Hospital, Tokyo...

"I don't need help! I just want to see her!" Rukawa shouted. He grabbed the tray from the nurse's hand and threw it on the floor. "I WANT TO SEE HER!"

"Rukawa-san!"

Storming out of the room, he went straight to the reception desk. "Where is she? I want to see her!" he demanded.

The nurse at the desk was bewildered. "Who are you looking for sir?"

"I'm looking for Yuki! Where is she?"

"I'm sorry but who is Yuki sir? Perhaps if you could-"

"I WANT TO SEE HER!"

"That is enough, Rukawa-san!" said the nurse who was treating him earlier. "This is a hospital! You are the not only patient, and neither is your friend! So please keep your voice down!"

Rukawa glared at her, and the nurse glared back. Gritting his teeth, he said in a softer tone, "Tsukino Hanayuki. She was sent in here with me and 3 others. I want to see her. Please."

The nurse, breathing a sigh of relief and frustration, motioned for the nurse at the desk to find out what he wanted to know and tell him. The words were barely out of the her mouth when Rukawa sped off to said room.

Once he found the room, he barged in, surprising the doctor and the nurse who were still checking on Hanayuki.

"How is she?" asked Rukawa, his eyes trained on Hanayuki's prone figure on the bed.

"Who are you?" the doctor asked.

Rukawa could feel his temper rising again, but he pushed it down so as not to disturb Hanayuki. "I'm her boyfriend. How is she?"

"She's fine. She's very weak, but she's fine," the doctor replied, sensing that the young man standing in front of him was going to get too agitated should he ask any more questions.

When he saw that Rukawa seemed to have relaxed a little at his answer, he asked cautiously, "Sir, you are injured quite badly yourself. Please, let me help you."

"I'm fine," said Rukawa, the tone of his voice not as tense as before.

"Sir, you need to let me help you treat those injuries," the doctor persisted. When Rukawa didn't respond, he tried again. "Think about your girlfriend, sir. You are now standing in her room with untreated injuries. The infection from those injuries could harm her."

That did it. Wordlessly, Rukawa turned to look at the doctor, before taking one last look at Hanayuki. Then, he slowly walked out of the room.

Knowing that Rukawa would want to be as close to Hanayuki as possible, the doctor led him to the nearest room available and started checking his injuries. He found that Rukawa suffered from a broken bone in his left arm, but other than that and the ugly bruises and scratches all over his body and face, Rukawa was fine.

While the doctor treated his injuries, Rukawa asked about the others. At first, the doctor didn't know who he was talking about, so he sent a nurse to look them up. Through the nurse, Rukawa found out that Sendoh had a broken leg and Fujima had a broken rib. Sakuragi, being Sakuragi, had nothing broken. Like Rukawa, they all had bruises and scratches all over their faces and bodies. And, like Rukawa, they had been demanding to see Hanayuki.

As soon as the doctor finished putting his arm in a cast, Rukawa asked to go to Hanayuki's room. The doctor nodded his head in consent, and Rukawa was gone in a blink of an eye.

When he got there, he found that the others were already there. As they looked at each other, they were painfully reminded of Aoi-chan's absence.

After a long moment of silence, Fujima spoke up. "What are we going to do? How are we going to get Aoi-chan back?"

"We need to call the police," said Sakuragi. "We have to find Aoi-chan."

"Sakuragi's right. We need to call the police," said Sendoh. Standing up, he continued, "I'll contact the Tokyo police. Sakuragi, go back to Kanagawa and inform all our families. Rukawa, you go with him. Fujima, you stay here and watch over Hana."

"I want to stay here," said Rukawa.

"No Rukawa. You need to go with Sakuragi. He cannot contact everybody on his own. Fujima can't go with him because of his ribs. Hell, he shouldn't even be here in the first place. He should in bed, resting," said Sendoh, his face etched with worry.

"I'm fine. As long as I don't move too much I'm alright," said Fujima. "You guys had better hurry. It's getting late and dark. Don't worry about Hanayuki. I won't let anything happen to her."

Sakuragi walked up to Rukawa. "Come on Rukawa," he said, putting a hand on the latter's shoulder.

Rukawa looked like he was going to refuse, but after a while, he relented and left the room, followed by Sakuragi and Sendoh.

---

At the Kanagawa train station...

"Sakuragi."

Sakuragi looked at Rukawa. "What is it Rukawa?"

"Can you please inform everybody about Hanayuki? I have something else to do."

Sakuragi regarded Rukawa for a moment. He knew that Rukawa hadn't come back with him to help him contact their families, and began to wonder what it was that was so important that Rukawa was willing to leave Hanayuki's side.

"Yeah that's fine. Unlike you, I have no broken bones, so it won't be a problem for me to find everyone on my own. You go and do what you have to do," said Sakuragi.

"Thank you." With that, Rukawa hailed a nearby cab and got in, leaving Sakuragi standing outside the station.

---

Rukawa got out of the cab and stood still, observing his house from outside. It looked dark and empty, but he knew better. Pushing the gate open, he walked in and took out his key to unlock the front door. His instincts were confirmed to be correct when, upon entering the house, he caught the unmistakable whiff of alcohol in the air.

He quickly walked into the living room, and when he saw his father seated in his usual seat with a glass of wine in his hand, he promptly went down on his knees.

"Otousan..."

---

Fujima shuffled in his seat, wincing in pain as he did so. He had been sitting there for a few hours now. Sendoh had not been back since he left to call the police. Sakuragi and Rukawa was also nowhere to be seen.

_Kami-sama, please let Aoi-chan be safe. Please..._

Lost in his thoughts, he started fingering the bead bracelet that he wore on his left hand. In the silence, he could hear the siren of an ambulance coming from a distance.

The door to the room opened all of a sudden, catching Fujima by surprise. His hand jerked, and he watched in horror as his bracelet came apart and the beads scattered all over the floor.

_No..._

---

Sendoh was tired. He was mentally exhausted and physically in pain. It didn't help that he had to walk around using a crutch. But he had to carry on. For the sake of Hanayuki and Aoi-chan, he must.

_Hana's still unconscious. And Aoi-chan... Aoi-chan..._

The thought of Aoi-chan brought tears to his eyes. Brushing them away with the back of his hand, he slowly made his way to Hanayuki's room, passing by a few nurses.

_The police said that they'll find her, no matter how many people it will take. Yes. I must trust in them. They will find her. They will._

"Have you heard about the latest case?"

"Yeah. I heard the girl is only about 3 years old."

"Only 3? That is so sad."

"Apparently she was found lying on the sidewalk. When the police found her, her face was an ugly blueish colour."

"That is just terrible! Who could've been so cruel to such a little girl?"

"Sendoh-san! Matte kudasai!"

The nurses stopped talking at the sudden interruption. They watched as the policeman jogged past them to get to Sendoh, who was standing a few feet away from them.

"Sendoh-san, I was looking all over... for... you..."

Tears streaking down his face, Sendoh looked at the policeman. "Have you found her?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

The policeman took a deep breath before answering. "Yes. We found her."

---

When Hanayuki opened her eyes, the silence that greeted her was almost deafening. She could practically hear her own heart beating, and it was beating faster than usual. Then, it suddenly hit her.

_Aoi-chan!_

She struggled to get up, and found that the room was empty. Pulling out the tubes that was sticking to her arm, she got out of bed, and almost fell due to lack of strength in her legs.

_I must look for Aoi-chan! _

With that thought in mind, she gathered all of her strength and stood up, holding onto the furnitures in the room and the wall for support as she forced her legs to move. When she finally made it out onto the corridor outside her room, she found it to be quite empty as well.

_Kaede... oniichan... Aki... Kenji... where are you? Where is Aoi-chan? _

Each step she took seemed to sap more and more of her energy, but each time she held on and took another step. Beads of sweat began to trickle down her face.

_Aoi-chan... Aoi-chan... where are you?_

---

The door to the operation room opened, and the doctor came out. Anzai-sensei and his wife, who had been sitting down, got to their feet, while Fujima, Sendoh and Sakuragi rushed up to the doctor.

"Sensei, how is she? How is Aoi-chan?" Sendoh asked anxiously. "Is she alright?"

When the doctor didn't reply immediately, Sakuragi pressed him for answers. "Oi sensei! How is Aoi-chan? Is she going to be alright? Say something!"

The doctor looked at each of them sadly. "I'm sorry. We have tried our very best, but... it was too late for us. Too late for her. I'm really sorry."

"Sou na..." Mrs Anzai whispered, her body trembling all over. Beside her, Anzai-sensei's knees weakened, and he sat down with a thud on the chair.

The tears were once again spilling out of Sendoh's eyes, while Sakuragi was too shocked to react. Fujima was hunched over, his shoulders racking up with sobs.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Everyone turned to see Hanayuki screaming, her whole body crumpling to the floor. Sakuragi quickly ran up to her and gathered her in his arms, as she wailed and sobbed.

"No, no... please... please save Aoi-chan... please save her..." she cried. "Please... I beg you... please..." She tried to get up, wanting to go to the doctor, but Sakuragi held her back.

"Hana-chan..." he whispered, his voice choking with emotion.

Hanayuki grabbed onto his shirt, looking up at him with her tear-stricken face. "Oniichan... please... please ask them to save her... save Aoi-chan... oniichan please... oniichan..."

Sakuragi could only hold her closer to him, as he let his own tears run down his face. Behind them, Mrs Anzai was sobbing quietly on Anzai-sensei's shoulder, while Sendoh and Fujima just stayed where they were, unmoving, watching the scene in front of them.

"Oniichan... don't let them take her away from me... please... oniichan... don't let them take Aoi-chan away from me..."

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry Hana-chan... I'm sorry..." Sakuragi whispered over and over again. Amidst the tears, he thought he saw a figure standing not too far away from him and Hanayuki. However, when he blinked repeatedly to clear his vision, there was nobody there.

_Rukawa, where are you? Hana-chan needs you right now. Where are you...?_

---

Nobody could've been able to see the amount of pain and agony that Rukawa was in as he walked down the corridor. You could've stopped him and talked to him and he would've ignored you, which was what he would normally do. You could've taken that opportunity to scrutinise his face for a hint of emotion, and find yourself failing miserably. His face was as devoid of expression as ever, his eyes as cold.

It was only when he was alone on the rooftop of the hospital did he let it all out in a yell, before falling onto his knees and burying his face into his hands, crying his heart out. And, as the rain began to pour, he looked up into the sky and let out another anguished yell.

Rukawa Kaede had never cried so much in his whole entire life.

---

Author's notes: I took advantage of the fact that I was on a roll and didn't stop writing until now. Dang am I on a roll or what? I don't think I had managed to infuse as much emotion into this chapter as I would've liked. It's not easy. Not many people can do it. As far as I'm concerned, aki midori can. She's the best. Read Golden Years and you'll know what I mean. Anyway, once again if my calculations are correct, at least one more chapter is in order. I imagine that they will be plenty of questions about this chapter. I also imagine that I'll be answering them in my next chapter. Till then, thank you for reading. Thank you for reviewing.


	18. Preview of Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Wait for me**

Hanayuki closed her eyes, feeling the wind as it blew gently across her face. Opening her eyes, she looked at the small piece of paper fluttering between her fingers. After what felt like an eternity, she let it go, watching as it flew further and further away from her, until finally, it disappeared from view. She closed her eyes again, this time listening to the waves as they rushed onto the shore.

_Aoi-chan..._

Rolling onto her back so that she was no longer lying sideways, she looked up into the black sky. As she moved her hand, she felt her fingers graze against something cold and smooth. She turned her head and stared at the empty bottle lying next to her on the sand.

_Kaede..._

Slowly, she pushed herself up and got to her feet.

---

_To be continued..._


End file.
